In a significant legal development, a federal judge has temporarily halted the Trump administration’s plans to lay off thousands of federal workers during the ongoing government shutdown. The decision, issued by US District Judge Susan Illston, came in response to a request from two major unions—the American Federation of Government Employees and AFL-CIO—seeking to prevent mass firings across more than 30 federal agencies. Judge Illston ruled that the administration’s actions appeared to be politically motivated and unlawfully exploited the funding lapse that began on October 1 to downsize the federal workforce. She cited public statements by President Donald Trump and White House Budget Chief Russell Vought, including Trump’s remarks about targeting ‘Democrat agencies,’ as evidence of these motivations. The Trump administration is expected to appeal the restraining order. Meanwhile, several key departments, including Treasury, Health and Human Services (HHS), and Homeland Security, had already begun issuing layoff notices. The Treasury Department alone planned to cut approximately 1,446 positions, while HHS initially notified 1,100 to 1,200 employees before scaling back to about half that number. Other agencies, such as Education, Housing and Urban Development, Commerce, and Energy, also announced significant workforce reductions. The unions argued that the shutdown does not justify mass firings, as most federal workers are already furloughed without pay. With the shutdown now in its third week, the Senate has repeatedly failed to pass a resolution to reopen the government, as Democrats push for measures to address rising healthcare costs for lower-income Americans.