An appeals court in California has refused to halt a judge’s order requiring the Trump administration to rehire thousands of federal workers who were let go in mass firings. A 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel turned back an emergency motion late Wednesday to pause the order from U.

A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday refused to pause a judge's ruling requiring the administration of President Donald Trump to reinstate more than 17,000 workers at six agencies who lost their jobs as part of Trump's purge of the federal workforce.

In a class action complaint, the former employees also said that the mass firings violated their First Amendment rights for perceived political stances.