Judge extends order barring the Trump administration from firing federal workers during the shutdown
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal judge in San Francisco on Tuesday indefinitely barred the Trump administration from laying off federal employees during the government shutdown.
U.S. District Judge Susan Illston granted a preliminary injunction barring the firings while a lawsuit against them is pending. He had previously filed a temporary restraining order against the layoffs, which was set to expire Wednesday.
Illston, who was nominated by Democratic President Bill Clinton, said he believed the evidence would ultimately show that mass layoffs were illegal and beyond authority.
The Republican administration has cut jobs in education, healthcare and other areas it says are favored by Democrats. management also said it would not exceed roughly $5 billion In emergency funds to continue benefits provided through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly referred to as SNAP, which will run through November.
The American Federation of Public Employees and other labor unions have sued to stop the “reductions in force,” saying the layoffs are an abuse of power to punish workers and pressure Congress.
Government lawyers say the district court does not have jurisdiction to hear personnel objections.
At the Oct. 15 hearing, Illston said the layoff announcements, which began on or around Oct. 10, were politically motivated and appeared not to be well thought out. Approximately 4,100 layoff notices were sent; some of these were sent to work email addresses that furloughed employees were not allowed to check. Some staff were called back to work without pay to serve notice of redundancy.
Democratic lawmakers demand any deal to reopen expired federal government address health subsidies This has made health insurance more affordable for millions of Americans. They also want any government funding bill that would reverse the Medicaid cuts at Trump’s major hospital. tax cuts and spending cuts bill This summer has passed.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson Democrats refused to negotiate until they agreed to reopen the government.
This is now the second longest shutdown.
The longest shutdown occurred during Trump’s first term due to demands for funds to build the US-Mexico border wall. This ended in 2019 35 days later.
