A federal judge on Wednesday handed down a ruling stating she does not have the power to reinstate eight inspectors general fired by President Donald Trump. 

Trump axed 17 of the federal watchdogs in January, citing unspecified “changing priorities.” The following month, eight of the former officials filed a lawsuit petitioning to be reinstated, arguing the president fired them without justification and violated the law by not giving a required 30-day notice to Congress. 

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U.S. District Court Judge Ana Reyes agreed in her decision this week that Trump violated requirements laid out in the Inspector General Act that mandate the president give proper notice and rationale to Congress before firing such individuals. However, the Washington, D.C., judge clarified she could not reinstate the former watchdogs because they did not show they had been “irreparably harmed.” 

“Under well-established case law that this Court is bound to follow, Plaintiffs must show irreparable harm. And they cannot,” she wrote in a 20-page decision that expressed sympathy for the plaintiffs.

Reyes further noted that Trump held the authority to fire the former watchdogs again, even if she had reinstated them, as long as he followed the proper protocols. 

Trump’s mass firings during his first days in office in January targeted all but two of the Cabinet agencies’ inspectors general, who are known as the top federal officials responsible for combating waste, fraud, and abuse.  

INSPECTORS GENERAL STRESS IMPARTIALITY FOLLOWING MASS TRUMP FIRINGS

The watchdogs fired included those overseeing the Small Business Administration and Departments of Agriculture, Defense, Education, Health and Human Services, Labor, State, and Veterans Affairs.  

Trump has since nominated new candidates to serve as inspectors general for five of the agencies. The Senate confirmed one candidate at the Department of Veterans Affairs last month.