A federal judge in San Francisco is blocking President Donald Trump from laying off thousands of federal workers during the government shutdown, calling the administration’s attempt at a mass firing “political retribution.”
U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston of San Francisco said Tuesday that unions representing federal employees were likely to prove that the job cuts were illegal. Although the White House may still prevail in the long run, Illston’s preliminary injunction indefinitely pauses the layoffs while the underlying case plays out in court.
The Trump administration had vowed to fire federal workers en masse if Democrats stood their ground in their funding fight with congressional Republicans. They tried to make good on that threat with a series of “reductions in force,” or RIF’s, that were announced Oct. 10 and covered roughly 4,000 workers.
Illston previously issued a temporary restraining order in the case to prevent Trump from moving ahead with the layoffs.
Unions have argued that the White House does not have the legal authority to pursue RIF’s while the government is not funded. They have also said the layoffs are clearly retaliatory.
