WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 11: People hold signs as they gather for a "Save the Civil Service" rally hosted by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) outside the U.S. Capitol on February 11, 2025 in Wa... WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 11: People hold signs as they gather for a "Save the Civil Service" rally hosted by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) outside the U.S. Capitol on February 11, 2025 in Washington, DC. Unionized federal workers and members of congress denounced President Trump and his alliesincluding Elon Musk, head of the so-called "Department of Government Efficiency" (Doge)for purging federal prosecutors, forcing out civil servants with dubious buyouts, and attempting to shutter USAID, all while branding government employees the "enemy of the people." (Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images) MORE LESS

There was a very important development today, still only little-noted in the national press. Government Executive magazine has a good piece on it. The news turns on a decision by the Office of Special Counsel, the head of which, Hampton Dellinger, Trump had only recently tried to fire before being blocked from doing so by a federal judge. The decision specifically deals with six federal employees, each from a different agency, who were recently fired as probationary employees as part of the DOGE purge. Technically, the decision only applies to those six employees. But in a way that is analogous, though not identical, to the way a court ruling works, the findings would likely apply to many other recent DOGE-terminated employees across the federal government.

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