A US appeals court on Friday (Mar 20) refused to pause a judge's ruling requiring the Trump administration to reinstate 25 000 workers at 18 federal agencies who lost their jobs as part of the Republican president's purge of the federal workforce.

A panel of the Richmond, Virginia-based 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals said there was no reason to pause the decision because the judge in Baltimore, Maryland is expected to decide next week whether to extend it further, in a lawsuit brought by 19 Democrat-led states and Washington, DC.

US District Judge James Bredar last week said the agencies that engaged in mass firings of probationary employees did not follow the required procedures for conducting layoffs of federal workers, and temporarily ordered their reinstatement.

The states on Thursday moved for a preliminary injunction that would leave Bredar's ruling in place pending the outcome of the lawsuit or appeals, which could take months or longer to resolve. Bredar has scheduled a hearing for Mar 26.

The Trump administration in court filings on Mar 17 said the agencies were working to reinstate the fired employees, while temporarily placing them on paid leave.

The 18 agencies involved in the case include the Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Agriculture, Department of Energy, Department of Health and Human Services and the Treasury Department.

The White House and the agencies did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The office of Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, which is spearheading the lawsuit, did not immediately have a comment.

Probationary employees typically have less than one year, and sometimes less than two years, of service in their current roles, though some are longtime federal employees.

The mass firings of probationary workers were the first step in broader efforts by Trump and top adviser Elon Musk to drastically shrink the federal workforce and slash government spending.

Most agencies have said they fired a few hundred probationary workers, but others terminated far more. The Treasury Department fired about 7600 people, the Department of Agriculture about 5700 and the Department of Health and Human Services more than 3200, according to court filings.

The states ...