A federal judge in the United States (US) reportedly cleared the way for the Donald Trump administration to fire probationary federal workers. As many as 50,000 people (probationary civilian employees) across the Defence Department could be impacted by this decision. The firings are expected to begin as early as Friday (Feb 21).

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There are approximately 55,000 probationary employees in the department and it's unclear how many people would receive an exemption from the decision, an unnamed US official told CNN. Over 900,000 civilians work for the Defence Department. 

Also read: ‘No taxpayer funds for illegal aliens’: Trump cuts off federal benefits for undocumented immigrants

'Reductions in tax'

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Meanwhile, firings were done in other departments of the US administration as well. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of America reportedly removed around 6,000 employees on February 20.

Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington, DC on Thursday (Feb 20), Trump's DOGE chief Elon Musk praised the ongoing efforts to cut the federal workforce by him and the US president. In his speech, the tech mogul said, “We’re finding savings, that’s going to translate directly to reductions in tax." This comes amid reports that the Trump administration may shutter the Internal Revenue Service. 

Also read: Trump administration begins firing of federal workers

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Mass layoff in US federal health service 

The US Health Department also fell victim to workforce reduction in federal departments. Massive protests erupted outside the headquarters of US health agencies on Friday (Feb 21) to call attention to mass layoffs in recent days in the department. 

Also read: Mass firings begin as Trump and Musk plan to shrink US federal workforce

"When one CDC employee attempted to log into their laptop on Wednesday morning, they received an error message and realized they were locked out of the system, unable to communicate with their team or even say goodbye," one of the laid-off workers told The Guardian. 

"They’d been laid off overnight and because they have not yet received a letter, they don’t know the reason for their termination. This employee had years of experience and excellent performance reviews, and was not probationary," they added. 

WATCH: Federal reserve set for an extended pause

(With inputs from agencies)