Judge temporarily blocks Trump’s mass firings at federal agencies

Judge says office of personnel management lacks power to order firings, including those of probationary employees

A federal judge in California has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from ordering the US defense department and other agencies to carry out the mass firings of some employees.

The US district judge William Alsup said in San Francisco on Thursday that the US office of personnel management (OPM) lacked the power to order federal agencies to fire any workers, including probationary employees who typically have less than a year of experience.