Judge blocks Trump's shutdown layoffs—1,200 HHS workers spared for now
President Donald Trump’s plan to lay off federal employees during the ongoing government shutdown—including 1,200 workers from healthcare agencies—was halted on Wednesday by a U.S. District Court in San Francisco.
In issuing a temporary injunction that spared the jobs of all who received “reduction in force” notices from the Trump administration, Judge Susan Illston said the cuts—by the president’s own admission—are politically motivated and may not fall under the authority of the executive branch, especially while the government is unfunded.
"It's very much ready, fire, aim on most of these programs, and it has a human cost," Illston said. "It's a human cost that cannot be tolerated."
Before announcing the most recent round of job eliminations, totaling some 4,200 across the federal government, Trump promised to target “Democrat agencies.” These are in addition to the tens of thousands who will have their jobs furloughed.
“I have a meeting today with Russ Vought, he of Project 2025 fame, to determine which of the many Democrat agencies—most of which are a political scam—he recommends to be cut, and whether or not those cuts will be temporary or permanent. I can’t believe the radical left Democrats gave me this unprecedented opportunity. They are not stupid people, so maybe this is their way of wanting to, quietly and quickly, Make America Great Again!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
After announcing the layoffs on Oct. 10, the American Federation of Government Employees and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees—two major unions in the public sector—filed a lawsuit and asked for a restraining order, which for now has been granted by the district court.
Illston’s decision will eventually be tested in court, as the Trump administration has shown its willingness to take injunctions against its firing of staff all the way to the Supreme Court, as was shown to be true during the mass firings that happened earlier this year as part of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative.
No end in sight
The government shutdown enters its third week on Monday, after 10 failed attempts to pass a resolution in the Senate to fund operations. The two parties are deadlocked on the issue of extending Affordable Care Act subsidies, used to help Americans buy insurance on the HealthCare.gov marketplace.
The extensions are set to expire at the end of the year, after the Democrats failed to get an extension included in the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act—a massive spending package signed into law in July.
The shutdown is officially the third longest in history, and there’s no deal on the table to satisfy the two parties.
Chad is an award-winning writer and editor with over 15 years of experience working in media. He has a decade-long professional background in healthcare, working as a writer and in public relations.