"It was a sham": Judge orders Trump admin to reinstate thousands of fired federal workers

Judge William Alsup ordered President Donald Trump 's administration to reinstate probationary federal workers axed last month .

Alsup ruled that the firings were unlawful and said claims that the layoffs were based on performance amounted to a "sham to try to avoid statutory requirements" Alsup said that the Office of Personnel Management had “no authority whatsoever” to remove workers at Agriculture, Defense, Energy , Interior , Treasury and Veterans Affairs .