A federal judge has put a stop to the Trump administration’s controversial plan to fire thousands of federal employees during the ongoing government shutdown. Judge Susan Illston of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted a temporary injunction after two major unions argued that the administration’s actions were unlawful.
“I am inclined to grant the plaintiff’s motion,” Illston said during the hearing. “The evidence suggests that the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel Management have taken advantage of the lapse in government functioning to assume that the laws don’t apply to them anymore. I believe the plaintiffs will demonstrate that what’s being done here is both illegal and in excess of authority.”
The ruling follows a lawsuit filed by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). The unions sued after the White House announced “reductions in force” across seven agencies, cutting at least 4,100 jobs. Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought later claimed the layoffs could exceed 10,000.
AFGE President Everett Kelley called the move “an illegal, unprecedented abuse of power,” adding that no president in the union’s 93-year history had ever fired furloughed workers during a shutdown.
With the injunction in place, the Trump administration’s mass layoffs are on hold while the court reviews the case, a temporary victory for thousands of workers caught in the middle of Washington’s political standoff.
