Judge Extends Block on Trump's Shutdown Layoffs

UPDATE Oct 28, 2025 4:12 PM CDT

A federal judge in San Francisco on Tuesday indefinitely barred the Trump administration from firing federal employees during the government shutdown, saying that labor unions were likely to prevail on their claims that the cuts were arbitrary and politically motivated. US District Judge Susan Illston granted a preliminary injunction that bars the firings while a lawsuit challenging them plays out, the AP reports. She had previously issued a temporary restraining order against the job cuts that was set to expire Wednesday. Illston, a Bill Clinton appointee, has said she believes the evidence will ultimately show the mass firings were illegal and in excess of authority. Federal agencies are enjoined from issuing layoff notices or acting on notices issued since the government shut down Oct. 1.

Oct 15, 2025 2:10 PM CDT

President Trump's administration for now must stop firing workers during the government shutdown, a federal judge in San Francisco ordered on Wednesday. US District Judge Susan Illston issued the emergency order after federal agencies on Friday started issuing layoff notices aimed at reducing the size of the federal government. The layoff notices are part of an effort by Trump's administration to exert more pressure on Democratic lawmakers as the government shutdown continues.

• Illston, a Bill Clinton appointee, said the administration was acting without thinking through its decisions, the AP reports. "It's very much ready, fire, aim on most of these programs, and it has a human cost," she said. "It's a human cost that cannot be tolerated."

• The American Federation of Government Employees and other federal labor unions had asked Illston for a temporary restraining order blocking the administration from issuing new layoff notices and implementing those that were already sent out. In a filing Tuesday, the unions, which represent more than 800,000 workers, accused the Trump administration of "using federal employees as pawns to impose political pressure on the Administration's perceived opponents in Congress," NPR reports.
• Illston's order came as the shutdown, which started Oct. 1, entered its third week. Democratic lawmakers are demanding that any deal to reopen the federal government address their health care demands. 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 those demands and reopen.
• The Trump administration has been paying the military and pursuing its crackdown on immigration while slashing jobs in health and education, including in special education and after-school programs. Trump said programs favored by Democrats are being targeted and "they're never going to come back, in many cases." In a court filing, the administration said it planned to fire more than 4,100 employees across eight agencies.
• The unions say the layoff notices are an illegal attempt at political pressure and retribution and are based on the false premise that a temporary funding lapse eliminates Congress' authorization of agency programs. The government says the district court lacks jurisdiction to hear employment decisions made by federal agencies.
• In May, Illston temporarily blocked mass federal layoffs, reports Reuters. Her ruling was later paused by the Supreme Court, but the administration scaled back its layoff plans.
• The Friday layoffs included roughly 1,300 CDC employees. The agency later said that due to "data discrepancies and processing errors," the layoff notices were reversed for around 800 employees.