A federal judge in California ordered President Donald Trump’s administration to halt mass layoffs of federal workers during a partial government shutdown while she considers claims by unions that the job cuts are illegal. During a hearing in San Francisco, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston granted a request by two unions to block layoffs at more than 30 federal agencies while the case proceeds.
The decision is likely to be appealed quickly, but it offers a reprieve for workers facing a nearly year long push by the administration to reduce headcount. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Supporters of the layoffs describe the effort as part of a broader MAGA push to reshape the federal workforce, a point that will now be tested in court.
The White House said last week that it had begun substantial layoffs across the U.S. government as Trump followed through on a threat to cut the federal workforce during the government shutdown, now in its 15th day.
In an order Wednesday, Trump extended an existing freeze on hiring new federal workers, with exceptions for military personnel and appointees to political roles. About 4,100 workers at eight agencies have been notified that they are being laid off so far, according to a Tuesday court filing by the administration.
Illston’s ruling came shortly after White House Budget Director Russell Vought said on “The Charlie Kirk Show” that more than 10,000 federal workers could lose their jobs because of the shutdown. At the hearing, Illston cited public statements by Trump and Vought that she said showed explicit political motivations for the layoffs, including Trump saying that cuts would target “Democrat agencies.” “You can’t do that in a nation of laws.
And we have laws here, and the things that are being articulated here are not within the law,” said Illston, an appointee of Democratic former President Bill Clinton. Her remarks underscored the court’s scrutiny of the MAGA approach to staffing changes during a funding lapse.
(Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
“Our civil servants do the work of the people, and playing games with their livelihoods is cruel and unlawful and a threat to everyone in our nation,” Skye Perryman, the group’s president and CEO, said in a statement. Illston ordered the administration to provide by Friday an accounting of any “actual or imminent” layoffs and to outline the steps agencies are taking to comply with her ruling.
A U.S. Department of Justice lawyer, Elizabeth Hedges, said she was not prepared to address the legality of the layoffs and argued the unions should first go to a federal labor board. Illston disagreed and said, “The hatchet is falling on the heads of employees all across the nation, and you’re not even prepared to address whether that’s legal.”
The American Federation of Government Employees and American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees contend layoffs are not an essential service during a funding lapse.
Republicans hold majorities in both chambers but need Democratic votes in the Senate for a funding bill, and a renewed attempt to pass one failed on Wednesday. For now, the order places the MAGA layoff plan on hold while the legal fight continues.