Judge orders Trump administration to halt shutdown layoffs

15 Oct 2025 23:27
15 Oct 2025 23:33

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Judge orders Trump administration to halt shutdown layoffs

Credit: Daniel Torok / White House

A judge has temporarily halted the Trump administration's plans to lay off thousands of federal workers amid the government shutdown.

It comes less than a week after the administration confirmed several agencies had begun laying off about 4,000 workers, News.Az reports citing BBC.

US District Judge Susan Illston granted a request by two unions to block layoffs at more than 30 agencies.

During the hearing, Illston said she agreed with the unions that the administration was unlawfully using the lapse in funding, which began on 1 October, to carry out its plans to downsize the federal government.

She also cited a series of public statements by President Donald Trump and the White House's budget chief, Russell Vought, that she said showed explicit political motivations for the layoffs, such as Trump saying that cuts would target "Democrat agencies."

A US justice department lawyer said that the unions must bring their claims to a federal labour board before going to court.

On Friday, major departments such as Treasury and Health and Human Services (HHS) confirmed they were issuing notices to employees.

Homeland Security, where many of its employees are considered essential, said it would lay off workers at its Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

A filing from the Office of Management and Budget revealed more than a quarter of the cuts were to be made at the Treasury Department, where notices were being sent to approximately 1,446 employees.

News.Az