Judge blocks Trump’s shutdown layoffs, calls them illegal
A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from laying off federal employees during the government shutdown on Wednesday, calling the firings illegal. U.S. District Judge Susan Yvonne Illston from the Northern District of California granted a temporary restraining order after two unions sued the administration.
The American Federation of Government Employees and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees filed the lawsuit ahead of the government shutdown, which began Oct. 1. The suit named Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, as a defendant after his office distributed a memo telling federal agencies to prepare for “firings, not furloughs.”
The unions claim the layoffs are an illegal attempt at political pressure.
The ruling
In a strongly worded ruling, the judge agreed with the unions.
“The activities that are being undertaken here are contrary to the laws,” Illston said. “You can’t do this in a nation of laws.”
Illston said the Trump administration had “taken advantage of the lapse in government spending and government functioning to assume that all bets are off, the laws don’t apply to them anymore, and they can impose the structures that they like on the government situation that they don’t like.”
She said she believes that as the case proceeds, the plaintiffs can demonstrate that the administration’s actions were illegal.
Illston said the temporary restraining order will take effect immediately, after approximately 4,000 people were laid off on Friday.
Earlier this week, President Donald Trump said the administration had targeted programs favored by Democrats for layoffs. Those programs, he said, are “never going to come back, in many cases.”
Prior to the ruling, Vought said federal firings could reach 10,000 during the shutdown.
Government shutdown continues
Illston’s ruling comes less than a week after firings began, and 15 days into the shutdown. In the shutdown’s third week, no agreement to fully reopen the government is in sight.
On Wednesday, the Senate failed for the ninth time to advance a GOP-backed funding bill already passed by the House. The issue among senators remains the same: Republicans want a so-called clean continuing resolution with no additional funding. Democrats are calling for the extension of Obamacare tax credits and the repeal of Medicaid changes.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson predicted the shutdown may become the longest in history, saying he “won’t negotiate” with Democrats until they hit pause on their demands.
As the government shutdown continues, many federal workers are working without pay. However, Trump tapped into unused research and development funds in the Defense Department to cover paychecks for military personnel. FBI Director Kash Patel said FBI agents will also continue to receive their pay.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
