Judge temporarily blocks the Trump administration from firing workers during the government shutdown

san francisco — A federal judge in San Francisco ordered Wednesday that President Donald Trump’s administration must for now stop firing workers during the government shutdown.

U.S. District Judge Susan Elston issued the emergency order after federal agencies on Friday began issuing layoff notices aimed at shrinking the size of the federal government. The layoff notices are part of an effort by the Republican Trump administration to put more pressure on Democratic lawmakers as the government shutdown continues.

Elston said the administration acts without thinking in its decisions.

“It’s very ready, firing, targeting most of these programs, and it has a human cost,” she said. “It is a human cost that cannot be tolerated.”

The American Federation of Government Employees and other federal labor unions asked Elston to issue a temporary restraining order preventing management from issuing new layoff notices and enforcing those already sent. The unions said the firings were an abuse of power designed to punish workers and pressure Congress.

Elston’s order came as the lockdown, which began Oct. 1, entered its third week. Democratic lawmakers are demanding that any deal to reopen the federal government address their health care requirements. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson expected the closure to become the longest in history, saying that he “will not negotiate” with Democrats until they stop these demands and reopen.

The Trump administration has been paying military salaries and continuing its crackdown on immigration while cutting jobs in health and education, including special education and after-school programs. Trump said programs favored by Democrats are being targeted and “will never come back, in many cases.”

The department said in a lawsuit that it plans to fire more than 4,100 employees at eight agencies.

The unions say the layoff notices are an illegal attempt at political pressure and retaliation and are based on the false premise that temporary funding cuts negate congressional authorization for the agency’s programs.

The government says the district court lacks jurisdiction to review employment decisions made by federal agencies.

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