Judge orders Trump administration to pause shutdown layoffs [View all]

Source: Washington Post

October 15, 2025 at 2:37 p.m. EDT


A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration's plans to lay off thousands of federal workers during the government shutdown, siding with unions, which have argued that the dismissals were illegal.

Senior U.S. District Judge Susan Illston said Wednesday that the administration must halt its layoffs less than a week after eight agencies -- Commerce, Education, Energy, Environmental Protection Agency, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Homeland Security and Treasury -- had issued reduction-in-force notices to more than 4,100 workers. About half of the firings at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were later reversed, but administration officials and President Donald Trump have promised further cuts, blaming Democrats for not agreeing to pass legislation to fund the government.

The government has argued that agencies have broad authorities to reorganize workforces to conform to the president's priorities. But the unions for federal workers argued that the layoffs were improperly handled, politically motivated and based on a false premise that the shutdown allows the government not to continue its statutory requirements. They have also argued that the government's use of RIFs, an extensive process requiring promised severance payments, during the shutdown would break the Antideficiency Act, which forbids the government from obligating or expending any money not appropriated by Congress. Trump administration officials had privately cautioned against proceeding with the RIFs because of that law, The Washington Post previously reported.

In a court hearing on the unions' motion for a temporary restraining order, Illston said Wednesday the administration has appeared not to follow the law when doing the RIFs. She also raised concerns about the errors the government has made, initially giving inaccurate estimates of how many people were given RIF notices at some agencies. She ordered the government to provide details about their planned RIFs within two days.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/10/15/trump-administration-shutdown-layoffs/