Alsup in March ordered the employees to be reinstated because the firings were arbitrary, but the Supreme Court quickly overruled the decision because the groups that brought the lawsuit lacked legal standing. By the time the issue came back to Judge Alsup with the Supreme Court’s issues addressed, it was too late, he said.

“But the Supreme Court has made clear enough by way of its emergency docket that it will overrule judicially granted relief respecting hirings and firings within the executive, not just in this case but in others. And, too much water has now passed under the bridge since the Supreme Court stayed this Court’s preliminary injunction reinstating probationary employees,” he wrote.