Mass Layoff Plan Suspended! U.S. court temporarily prohibits Trump from conducting large-scale layoffs during government shutdown
A U.S. federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from firing federal employees during the government shutdown, ruling that such actions violate existing law. Previously, the White House planned layoffs affecting more than 10,000 staff, targeting specific agencies.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Susan Yvonne Illston in San Francisco issued a temporary restraining order, directing more than twenty federal agencies involved in the lawsuit to halt issuing new layoff notices to union members.
Additionally, the order halts enforcement of notices already issued until the court decides whether to impose a longer-term injunction. Since last week, the Trump administration has issued layoff notices to over 4,000 federal workers.
Democracy Forward, an advocacy organization representing the union in court, praised the judge's decision. The group’s CEO, Skye Perryman, stated:
Today's statement from the court makes clear that the President's actions toward federal employees are illegal. Our civil servants work for the people, and jeopardizing their livelihoods is both cruel and unlawful, threatening everyone in our country.
This judicial intervention comes on the 15th day of the government shutdown, as the Senate has for the ninth time rejected a temporary funding bill. While the intervention does not decide the case’s final outcome, it takes effect immediately.
Judge Finds Trump Administration Actions Illegal
The judge clearly stated in her ruling that the government’s actions may contradict existing law.
According to reports, Judge Illston stated during the hearing:
You can't do this in a nation of laws. We have laws here, and what’s described here doesn’t fit with them.
Illston pointed out that the Trump administration "uses interruptions in government spending and operations as if no rules apply, no laws restrict them, and they can impose their preferred structures on government conditions they dislike."
The judge also said she believes the union has shown that the Trump administration’s actions are illegal, and “arbitrary and capricious.”
The judge cited comments from President Trump and White House Budget Chief Vought as evidence, indicating the dismissed employees were specifically targeted at Democrat-favored programs.
Trump has repeatedly stated previously that the layoffs are aimed at cutting 'Democratic agencies' or programs.
White House Plan: Layoffs May Exceed 10,000, Targeting Specific Agencies
Shortly before the judge issued her order, Wallstreetcn reported, White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought revealed the massive scale of the government’s layoff plan.
Vought said he expects more than “10,000” federal jobs will be cut due to the shutdown. He emphasized:
We want to take very aggressive action to shut down bureaucratic agencies where possible, not just in terms of funding.
Vought listed a range of potential cuts, including projects linked to the “Green New Deal” at the Department of Energy, environmental justice initiatives at the Environmental Protection Agency, the Minority Business Development Agency at the Commerce Department, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).
Additionally, Vought stated that he plans to shut down the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), where he serves as acting director, within “the next two or three months,” describing the agency as having “(Democratic Senator) Elizabeth Warren’s DNA.”
These remarks echo President Trump’s repeated statements that the layoffs are aimed at targeting Democratic agencies, and were also a key basis for the judge’s ruling on Wednesday.
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