HHS, VA rehiring 5,000 workers after court halts DOGE purge
Over 24,000 federal workers purged by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are returning to work, following a ruling by a federal judge last week. Of them, almost 5,000 work for federal healthcare agencies.
Most of the rehires will be probationary workers, a designation typically for employees who have been in their role for fewer than two years. According to court records, a restraining order against the mass firings of President Donald Trump’s administration has been put in place, resulting in the Justice Department being forced to provide a head count of all workers who have been fired to date.
That information was supplied to the court in the form of written statements from human resource officers at 18 different federal agencies. Workers who lost their job are to be temporarily rehired, per the ruling from Maryland U.S. District Court Judge James Bredar.
However, the return to work may be short-lived, as the Justice Department—working on behalf of Elon Musk and the Trump administration—intends to appeal the decision to a higher court.
Given that Bredar’s ruling is the second such pause ordered by a federal judge, the Justice Department will ultimately need to appeal both rulings to move forward with the DOGE layoffs.
Those hired back in healthcare include 1,683 probationary workers from Veterans Affairs (VA) and 3,248 from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
It’s unclear when a higher court will review the cases. This is a developing story.
Chad is an award-winning writer and editor with over 15 years of experience working in media. He has a decade-long professional background in healthcare, working as a writer and in public relations.