**U.S. Federal Court Orders Reinstatement of Employees Fired Last Month**
The U.S. federal court has ordered the reinstatement of thousands of federal agency interns who were dismissed last month under the Trump administration. According to reports from the Associated Press (AP) and The Washington Post (WP) on the 13th (local time), Judge William Alsup of the San Francisco federal court in California issued the order.
Judge Alsup stated that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) does not have the authority to mandate employee dismissals across government departments. He criticized the government’s actions, suggesting that it is a sad situation when employees are terminated under the guise of performance-based decisions, especially when it is known to be a false premise.
This lawsuit was initiated by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and others in response to the mass firing of federal interns. These interns often have less than a year of work experience, although some have been working with the federal government for longer periods. Judge Alsup had previously issued a temporary injunction on their behalf on the 27th of last month. He was appointed by former President Bill Clinton from the Democratic Party.
In the previous argument, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, cited poor job performance as the reason for the layoffs. However, the AFGE contended that most interns were terminated not because of performance issues, but simply because they were hired by the previous administration.
Despite this federal court’s ruling, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, continues to pursue workforce reductions within government departments. According to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Musk secretly visited the National Security Agency (NSA) the day before, focusing on discussions about workforce reductions and organizational operations within federal intelligence agencies.
The NSA reported having positive discussions with Musk, stating that meetings with key advisors of the Trump administration indicate that they are all moving in the same direction.
WSJ noted that Musk’s visit to the NSA took place just one day before federal agencies were required to submit their reorganization plans, including workforce reduction proposals. The report remarked that Musk’s ability to freely visit one of America’s most famous and secretive intelligence agencies demonstrates his significant influence.