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.

The Trump administration has appealed to the Supreme Court to pause a ruling from a federal judge who ordered the reinstatement of thousands of probationary federal employees who had been fired in February.

Trump officials have repeatedly made public comments criticizing unfavorable rulings by district court judges—and even called for those judges’ impeachments—with White House