A U.S. District Court judge has issued a preliminary injunction preventing the Trump administration from firing federal employees during the government shutdown. The ruling comes in response to a lawsuit brought by government employee unions seeking to block President Trump from carrying out layoffs.
Judge Susan Illston of the Northern District of California issued a ruling on Tuesday that will prevent reductions-in-force (RIFs) affecting approximately 4,000 federal employees. The ruling follows Illston’s previous order earlier in the month, granting a temporary restraining order and preventing layoffs for two weeks. At the time of her last ruling, Illston stated she believed the attempted reductions by the Trump administration would be ruled invalid as the case progressed and found to be an overreach of executive authority.
During a hearing on Tuesday, Illston, an appointee of Former President Bill Clinton, said the motivating factor behind the layoffs was “political retribution.”
Members of the Trump administration have defended the issuance of RIFS, saying reductions are even more necessary during a shutdown. DOJ Senior Counsel Michael Velchik stated that the shutdown’s funding shortfall made it necessary for the administration to find ways to cut costs. Velchik also said the determination of which employees are essential helps the administration determine where to cut costs and to “crystallize for policymakers what really should we be spending the American taxpayers’ dollars on.”
At the hearing earlier this month, Judge Illston questioned the assistant U.S. attorney on the administration’s reasoning behind the layoffs and said the policy of firing federal workers during a shutdown had a “human cost that cannot be tolerated.”
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), one of the plaintiffs in the case, issued a public statement on Monday calling for an end to the shutdown. Everett Kelley, AFGE National President, called the shutdown an “avoidable crisis” and urged Congress to immediately pass a continuing resolution to reopen the government.
