A federal judge has intervened to halt the mass layoffs of government employees during the ongoing US government shutdown, which has now entered its third week. The decision came after President Donald Trump’s administration announced plans to terminate up to 10,000 federal workers. District Judge Susan Illston issued a temporary restraining order in San Francisco, responding to a lawsuit filed by labor unions alleging that the layoffs are unlawful. The judge criticized the government for exploiting the shutdown to bypass legal obligations, stating, ‘The evidence suggests that the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel Management have taken advantage of the lapse in government spending to assume all bets are off.’ The shutdown stems from a deadlock in Congress over spending, with Trump threatening aggressive cuts to the federal workforce. Court documents revealed that over 4,000 employees were already dismissed last week, primarily affecting the US Treasury and departments of health, education, and housing. Meanwhile, the Senate has repeatedly failed to pass a funding bill, leaving 1.4 million federal employees either working without pay or on unpaid leave. Trump has accused Democrats of ‘playing politics’ and warned of further layoffs targeting opposition-aligned workers. Despite the crisis, the administration has prioritized military pay, ensuring 1.3 million personnel receive their checks on time. However, Capitol Police missed their full paycheck for the first time on Tuesday. As the shutdown drags on, calls for immediate negotiations to resolve the impasse have grown louder, with Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer urging the administration to ‘stop playing politics with people’s livelihoods.’
US judge halts mass layoffs during government shutdown as Trump threatens 10,000 jobs
