Federal Judge in California Temporarily Halts Trump’s Shutdown Firings

The ruling came from a union challenge to the administration’s authority over layoffs during the shutdown.

Federal Judge in California Temporarily Halts Trump’s Shutdown Firings
Photo of U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of California Susan Y. Illston from Law.com

WASHINGTON, Oct. 16, 2025 — A federal judge stopped Trump’s planned mass firings, at least for now.

Yesterday, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston in San Francisco issued a two-week restraining order, having blocked the first wave of more than 4,000 layoffs planned under the administration’s shutdown workforce cuts. She also ordered agencies to submit detailed layoff plans by Friday.

The ruling came in American Federation of Government Employees et al. v. Office of Management and Budget et al., a lawsuit filed by the nation’s two largest federal employee unions. The complaint alleged the administration overstepped its authority by issuing layoff orders during the shutdown without lawful basis or adequate justification.

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