An administration lawyer complained about what she said was a trend of lower court judges exceeding their authority in halting government programs.

The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court on Monday to put on hold a federal judge’s ruling reinstating thousands of probationary federal employees who were fired as part of the government’s efforts to quickly downsize its workforce.

WASHINGTON—The Justice Department asked the Supreme Court on Monday to block a judge’s order requiring it to reinstate more than 16,000 federal employees, as administration officials vow to seek the justices’ intervention in clearing away lower-court rulings that have slowed Trump policies.