Judge halts Trump administration layoffs during government shutdown

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s administration from laying off workers during government shutdownsaying the cuts appeared to be politically motivated and were being made without much thought.

U.S. District Judge Susan Illston in San Francisco repeatedly pressed the assistant U.S. attorney to explain the administration’s rationale for the more than 4,100 people. notice of dismissal that began going out Friday, even though furloughed workers can’t access their work emails and there are no human resources specialists to help them with the next steps.

“It’s quite ready, shoot, aim most of these programs, and it comes at a human cost,” she said. “This is a human cost that cannot be tolerated.”

She granted a temporary restraining order blocking the job cuts, saying she believed the evidence would ultimately show the cuts were illegal and excessive.

Emails sent to the White House and the Office of Management and Budget after the judge’s ruling Wednesday were not immediately returned.

The American Federation of Government Employees and other federal unions had asked Illston to block the administration from issuing new layoff notices and implement those already sent. Unions said the firings were an abuse of power intended to punish workers and pressure Congress.

“The president seems to think that the government shutdown distracts people from the harmful and lawless actions of his administration, but the American people hold him accountable, including in the courts,” said Skye Perryman, president and CEO of the legal organization Democracy Forward. “Our public servants are doing the work of the people, and messing with their livelihoods is cruel and illegal and poses a threat to everyone in our nation. »

Illston’s order came as the shutdown, which began Oct. 1, entered its third week.

Democratic lawmakers are demanding that any deal to reopen the federal government must meet their health care requests. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson predicted the shutdown could become the longest in history, saying he “won’t negotiate” with Democrats until they put a pause on those demands and reopen.

Democrats demanded that health care subsidies, first implemented in 2021 and extended a year later, be extended again. They also want any government funding bill to reverse Medicaid cuts in Trump’s major programs. tax relief and spending reductions bill spent this summer.

The Trump administration has been pay the military and continue its crackdown on immigration while job cuts in the field of health and education, including special education and after-school programs. Trump said the programs favored by Democrats are targeted and “in many cases, they will never return.”

In a court filing, the administration said it plans to lay off more than 4,100 employees across eight agencies.

In a related case, Illston had blocked the administration to implement much of its plans to reduce the size of the federal workforce. But the Supreme Court said the administration could continue to lay off workers while the lawsuit was ongoing.

The unions say the layoff notices are an illegal attempt at political pressure and retaliation and are based on the false premise that a temporary funding hiatus eliminates Congressional authorization for agency programs.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Hedges said in court Wednesday that the district court does not have jurisdiction to hear employment decisions made by federal agencies. At the judge’s urging, Hedges said she was not prepared to discuss the merits of the case, only why a temporary restraining order should not be issued.

Illston was appointed to the bench by former President Bill Clinton, a Democrat.

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Follow AP coverage of the federal government shutdown at https://apnews.com/hub/government-shutdown.