TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Thousands of federal workers fired as part of President Donald Trump’s campaign to downsize the government have been offered their jobs back under a judge’s order, including National Park Service workers in Tucson.
On Feb. 14, the Trump administration fired roughly 1,000 National Park Service employees, many of whom were in probationary periods. Two Visitor Center employees at Saguaro National Park were among those targeted as part of a broader effort to reduce the federal workforce, a move that led to the park closing its Visitor Centers on Mondays.
Now, they have been reinstated, according to Fred Stula, Executive Director of Friends of Saguaro, and the Visitor Centers are back to being open daily. “They were very happy that they can honestly just get back to work,” he said.
Friends of Saguaro is a nonprofit partner of the National Park. The two fired-then-rehired employees had previously completed an internship program through the nonprofit.
As a result of the federal firings, protesters gathered at national parks across the country.
Then, earlier in March, two U.S. district court judges separately found legal problems with how President Trump was carrying out a dramatic downsizing of the U.S. government. One judge ruled that thousands of fired probationary workers should be reinstated at several agencies, including those at the National Park Service.
“It was very, very exciting to know that those advocacy efforts could be successful,” Stula said.
Last week, the National Parks Conservation Association announced the agency is “authorized to fully reinstate 1,000 previously terminated probationary employees at national parks across the country.” Those reinstated could fully return to work and receive back pay, including the two employees at Saguaro National Park.
“It was really great news to hear that they had been reinstated and these great young people, they’re very passionate about the park, can get back on their career track,” Stula said.
But Stula emphasized that there’s still more work to be done.
“Our national parks are still significantly underfunded and understaffed, and those are things that we have to kind of continue to push for,” Stula added.
The Trump administration worked to overturn the court ruling that required six agencies to reinstate thousands of federal probationary workers who were terminated.
On Monday, the Trump administration appealed the order to the Supreme Court, arguing that judges cannot "micromanage" federal worker policies or force the rehiring of more than 16,000 workers. A response is due by April 3.
On Wednesday, a federal appeals courtupheld the order to reinstate the fired workers, rejecting the administration's request to pause the ruling.
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Maria Staubs joined KGUN 9 as a multimedia journalist and producer in July of 2024. Her passion for writing and storytelling stems from anchoring her middle school’s news show and editing her high school’s yearbook. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism and mass communication with a minor in film and media production, as well as a master's degree in mass communication. You can email Maria at maria.staubs@kgun9.com or reach out to her on X/Twitter or Instagram.
