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A federal judge in San Francisco on Tuesday indefinitely blocked the Trump administration from firing federal employees during the ongoing government shutdown, ruling that the layoffs appeared to be politically motivated and outside the administration’s legal authority.
U.S. District Judge Susan Illston, appointed by former President Bill Clinton, issued a preliminary injunction preventing the administration from carrying out its planned “reductions in force” while a sweeping labor-union lawsuit proceeds. The order replaces a temporary restraining order Illston granted earlier this month that was set to expire Wednesday.
In her ruling, Illston said she believes the evidence will likely show the firings were “arbitrary, retaliatory, and in excess of lawful authority.”
The injunction bars federal agencies from issuing new layoff notices or acting on notices sent since the shutdown began Oct. 1, though it does not apply to notices distributed before that date.
Judge calls firings an abuse of power
The Trump administration has slashed positions across multiple departments — including education, health, and social programs — describing the cuts as part of a broader effort to streamline government spending. But unions argue the layoffs are designed to punish federal employees whose work supports Democratic priorities, while the White House has refused to release contingency funds to sustain certain programs.
“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 Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), one of several unions behind the lawsuit.
The White House referred comment to the Office of Management and Budget, which did not immediately respond.
Government defends authority to cut jobs
Justice Department lawyers argued the court lacks authority to interfere in personnel decisions and said Trump has the constitutional power to reduce the federal workforce, citing his long-standing campaign promise to do so.
“The president was elected on this specific platform,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Velchik, adding that Trump was chosen “by the American people who knew him above all else for his eloquence in communicating to employees that you’re fired.”
Trump, who hosted the reality show The Apprentice for 14 seasons, made “You’re fired!” his signature phrase — one that has become a recurring political motif during his presidency.
Layoffs widen labor fight
Since Oct. 10, roughly 4,100 layoff notices have gone out — some to furloughed workers’ government email accountsthat they are barred from checking. In some agencies, unpaid employees were recalled to issue termination notices to their colleagues.
The lawsuit now includes plaintiffs represented by multiple major unions, including the National Treasury Employees Union, the American Federation of Teachers, and the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers. It names all Cabinet departments and more than two dozen independent agencies as defendants.
Shutdown reaches historic length
Democratic lawmakers say any deal to reopen the government must also extend health care subsidies and reverse Medicaid cuts from the Trump administration’s tax and spending legislation earlier this year.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, has so far refused to negotiate until Democrats first agree to reopen the government without conditions.
The standoff has made this the second-longest shutdown in U.S. history, trailing only the 35-day shutdown of 2018–2019, which also occurred under Trump amid a funding dispute over his proposed U.S.-Mexico border wall.
