A federal judge repeatedly sounded skeptical that mass firings of probationary federal workers were made by the government because the employees couldn’t do their jobs. U.S. District Judge James Bredar said at a hearing Wednesday that the workers appeared to be “terminated as a group in order to achieve a broader objective.” Nearly 20 states are seeking a temporary restraining order to stop any more firings of federal probationary employees and to reinstate those who have already been dismissed. The judge says he plans to issue a ruling “promptly.”

The Education Department’s civil rights branch is losing nearly half its staff in the Trump administration’s layoffs, effectively gutting an office that already faced a backlog of thousands of complaints from students and families across the country. Among more than 1,300 layoffs announced Tuesday were roughly 240 in the department’s Office for Civil Rights. Seven out of 12 regional offices were entirely laid off. It leaves thousands of cases hanging in the air, including cases from families trying to get school services for students with disabilities, allegations of bias related to race or religion, and complaints over sexual violence on college campuses.

The deep cuts across federal agencies since Donald Trump’s return to the White House include reductions in force, which mean not only layoffs but also elimination of positions altogether. Tens of thousands of job losses have been announced by agencies, including the Department of Education. Others have been part of plans shared with The Associated Press but not yet made public. The White House has given each federal agency until Thursday to develop a report on its plans, the results of which could be extensive changes in how government functions. More plans are due on April 14, with an implementation deadline of Sept. 30.