A federal judge in San Francisco has indefinitely blocked the Trump administration from firing federal employees amid the ongoing government shutdown.
U.S. District Judge Susan Illston issued a preliminary injunction on Tuesday preventing the administration from carrying out any further layoffs while a broader lawsuit brought by federal unions proceeds. The order extends an earlier temporary restraining order that was set to expire Wednesday.
In her ruling, Judge Illston, appointed by former President Bill Clinton, noted that evidence presented so far indicates the firings were “illegal and in excess of authority.” The injunction blocks federal agencies from issuing or acting on any layoff notices since the shutdown began on October 1, though notices sent before that date remain unaffected.
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The Trump administration has defended the cuts, targeting jobs in education, health, and other departments often supported by Democrats, as part of a plan to streamline government. Officials have also refused to release $5 billion in contingency funds that would keep food assistance benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) flowing into November.
Labor unions argue the firings were a deliberate abuse of power intended to punish employees and force political concessions from Congress.
“President Trump is using the government shutdown as a pretense to illegally fire thousands of federal workers – specifically those employees carrying out programs and policies that the administration finds objectionable,” said American Federation of Government Employees National President Everett Kelley, welcoming the court’s decision.
The White House referred questions to the Office of Management and Budget, which declined to comment, according to AP’s report.
Government lawyers assert that the president has broad discretion to reduce the federal workforce and that the court lacks jurisdiction over internal personnel matters. “The president was elected on this specific platform,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Velchik. “The American people selected someone known above all else for his eloquence in communicating to employees that you’re fired, this is what they voted for.”
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The administration has already issued about 4,100 layoff notices since October 10, including some sent to furloughed employees’ government email accounts, which they are not permitted to access. Some workers were even called back without pay to process layoff paperwork for others.
The unions’ lawsuit has since expanded to include additional groups such as the National Treasury Employees Union, the American Federation of Teachers, and the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, encompassing all Cabinet departments and more than two dozen agencies.
Meanwhile, Democrats in Congress are demanding that any agreement to reopen the government also restore health care subsidies and roll back cuts to Medicaid included in the administration’s tax and spending legislation passed earlier this year. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has refused to negotiate until Democrats agree to first reopen the government.
The current shutdown has now become the second-longest in U.S. history, trailing only the 35-day standoff during Trump’s first term over border wall funding.
READ ALSO: Trump administration warns federal workers may lose back pay as shutdown continues
