The federal government has been paralyzed for more than two weeks.
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Mehmet Eser/AFP via Getty
Unions representing federal employees say the Trump administration is considering mass layoffs at the Interior Department despite a court order temporarily blocking layoffs during the shutdown.
The disclosure came amid a legal battle between the administration and two federal employee unions — the American Federation of Government Employees and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees — who have sued to block what they call “politically motivated RIFs,” or reductions in force.
In a statement filed with the court Thursday evening, the plaintiffs’ attorney, Danielle Leonard, wrote that “multiple credible sources” said the Interior Department was actively preparing to lay off thousands of employees starting Monday.
“This immediately raised concerns about compliance with this Court’s order,” Leonard wrote in a statement. When the plaintiffs questioned government lawyers Thursday afternoon, a Justice Department lawyer responded that “pursuant to the Court’s order, we will produce the requested information tomorrow.”
In response, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston agreed to advance the deadline she had imposed on the government to provide the court with “an accounting of all RIFs, actual or threatened, that are prohibited by this (temporary restraining order).”
Illston has now asked the government to provide, by Friday at 2 p.m. ET, details on the number of employees affected and a description of the programs and activities targeted by reductions.
Earlier this week, the Trump administration informed the court that federal agencies had initiated the RIF process with eight different agencies, affecting just over 4,000 individuals. The slight downward revision from what the administration provided last Friday included the disclosure that about 800 Department of Health and Human Services employees had received layoff notices in error.
Donald Trump listens to other speakers after delivering a speech during an event in the Oval Office of the White House on October 16.
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The statement from Office of Management and Budget senior advisor Stephen Billy emphasizes that “the situation… is fluid and evolving rapidly.”
After a hearing Wednesday, Illston granted the unions a temporary restraining order, ending the Oct. 10 layoff notices and preventing further layoffs until a hearing on a permanent injunction, scheduled for Oct. 28. Illston called the Trump administration’s approach to RIFs “ready, shoot, aim” during Wednesday’s hearing and said the administration was seeking to take advantage of the lack of funding “to assume that all bets are off, the laws no longer apply to them, and they can impose whatever structures they like on a government situation they don’t like.” »
In response, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called Illston “another far-left partisan judge.”
Speaking to reporters Thursday, Leavitt added that the White House is confident their actions are legal and called the layoffs an “unfortunate consequence” of the government shutdown.
