Judge extends order barring the Trump administration from firing federal workers during the shutdown

san francisco — A federal judge in San Francisco on Tuesday indefinitely blocked the Trump administration from firing federal employees during the government shutdown.

US District Judge Susan Elston issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting the dismissals while the lawsuit challenging them is pending. It had previously issued a temporary restraining order against the job cuts that was set to expire on Wednesday.

Elston, nominated by Democratic President Bill Clinton, said she believes the evidence will ultimately show that the mass firings were illegal and ultra vires.

The Republican administration has cut jobs in education, health and other fields it says are favored by Democrats. The administration also said it would not tap nearly $5 billion in emergency funds to maintain benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly referred to as SNAP, flowing through November.

The American Federation of Government Employees and other labor unions sued to stop the “effective” layoffs, saying the firings were an abuse of power designed to punish workers and pressure Congress.

Government lawyers say the local court does not have the authority to hear employee appeals.

During an Oct. 15 hearing, Elston said the layoff notices that began on or around Oct. 10 appeared to be politically motivated and not well thought out. About 4,100 layoff notices were issued, some of which sent work email addresses that furloughed employees are not allowed to verify. Some employees have been called back to work, without pay, to issue layoff notices.

Democratic lawmakers are demanding that any deal to reopen the federal government address expired health care subsidies that made health insurance unaffordable for millions of Americans. They also want any government funding bill to undo the Medicaid cuts in Trump’s large tax breaks and spending-cutting bill passed this summer.

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson refused to negotiate with Democrats until they first agreed to reopen the government.

This is now the second longest closure.

The longest shutdown occurred during Trump’s first term due to his demands for funds to build the border wall between the United States and Mexico. That ended in 2019 after 35 days.