Judge Ana C. Reyes, a Biden appointee, excoriated lawyers representing the former government watchdogs for how they handled their emergency request, but let the lawsuit proceed on a slower timeline.

A federal judge denied the immediate reinstatement of eight inspectors general who were fired by President Donald Trump last month, opting for a slower time frame to consider the case. The inspectors general argued that Trump firing them violated the law because he did not do so without justification or a 30-day notice to Congress

Recent court orders slowing down or indefinitely blocking President Donald Trump’s policy blitz have raised the specter that the executive branch might openly flout the federal judiciary and prompted questions about how judges would respond.