The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay in favor of the Trump administration, vacating the U.S. District Court’s ruling to reinstate more than 24,000 probationary federal workers.

The ruling could allow the White House to re-fire the employees it had just put back on the payrolls in the last few weeks after U.S. District Court of Maryland Judge James Bredar issued a temporary restraining order halting the firings and ordering reinstatement. Bredar later ruled for the states in a preliminary injunction.

However, the Appeals Court felt Bredar overstepped his bounds.

“The government is likely to succeed in showing the district court lacked jurisdiction over plaintiffs’ claims, and the government is unlikely to recover the funds disbursed to reinstated probationary employees,” two of the three judges wrote. One of the judges on the panel dissented with the decision.

Documents released on Tuesday showed that the administration had reinstated most of the employees it fired.

Nineteen states, including Maryland, as well as the District of Columbia sued the White House for irreparable harm due to the lack of notice from the federal government about the layoffs.

The states say they had to set up impromptu websites and provided unemployment benefits to the newly laid off workers.

States must be informed 60 days prior to reductions in force in order to prepare for mass unemployment, according to federal law.

Judge James Bredar granted the restraining order because he deemed the White House’s actions to be reductions in force, which require that prior warning.

A federal judge in San Francisco ruled earlier in March that the firing of thousands of probationary federal employees was illegal.

However, on Tuesday the Supreme Court issued a stay on that case, allowing, at least temporarily, the administration to move forward in firing 16,000 federal employees.

Both courts are now expected to make rulings on merit about the cases.