Today's News: Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks Layoffs of Federal Workers During Government Shutdown
OMB Director Russell Vought indicated plans to significantly increase the number of layoffs, viewing the shutdown as an opportunity to downsize government bureaucracy and target “Democrat programs.”
Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images
Overview
Date: October 15, 2025
Summary: A federal judge in San Francisco, Susan Illston, issued a temporary restraining order on October 15, 2025, blocking the Trump administration from continuing mass layoffs of federal workers during an ongoing government shutdown. Siding with labor unions, Judge Illston deemed the administration’s actions unlawful, arbitrary, capricious, and politically motivated, stating they acted as though “all bets are off” and laws didn’t apply. The administration had already issued “reduction in force” (RIF) notices to approximately 4,000 federal employees across several agencies and planned to implement further, more extensive cuts. The judge’s order immediately halts further layoffs and requires the administration to provide a detailed accounting of its RIF activities.
Sources
The New York Times - Judge Temporarily Blocks Trump From Firing Government Workers During Shutdown
NBC News - Judge blocks Trump’s layoffs during shutdown, calling them illegal
The Washington Post - Judge orders Trump administration to pause shutdown layoffs
The Wall Street Journal - Judge Temporarily Blocks Move to Fire Federal Employees During Shutdown
Key Points
A federal judge in San Francisco, Susan Illston, issued a temporary restraining order on October 15, 2025, blocking the Trump administration from proceeding with mass layoffs of federal workers.
The judge ruled that the administration’s actions were unlawful, in excess of authority, arbitrary and capricious, and politically motivated, suggesting they believed laws did not apply during the shutdown.
The ruling was a response to lawsuits filed by labor unions representing federal workers, who argued the firings were illegal.
The Trump administration had already initiated “reduction in force” (RIF) notices to approximately 4,000-4,100 federal employees across multiple agencies.
Administration officials, including OMB Director Russell Vought, indicated plans to significantly increase the number of layoffs, potentially exceeding 10,000, viewing the shutdown as an opportunity to downsize government bureaucracy and target “Democrat programs.”
The legal challenge and layoffs occurred during an ongoing government shutdown, which began on October 1st and had lasted for two weeks.
Unique Highlights
Fox News uniquely identifies Judge Susan Illston as a “Clinton appointee.”
The New York Times notes President Trump appeared “unfazed” by the decision, threatening further cuts, and highlights Judge Illston’s concern that Trump’s comments and aides’ memos indicated “politics that infuses what is going on.” It also details the Justice Department lawyer’s admission that the government “did not prepare to address” the legality of firings and points out the administration’s misstatements and omissions in court documents regarding layoff numbers, including erroneously sent notices to CDC scientists.
CNN provides specific details on the chaotic RIF process, including the erroneous sending of notices to 1,760 Department of Health and Human Services employees instead of 982, and lists the specific departments that received RIF notices: Commerce, Education, Housing and Urban Development, Homeland Security, Treasury, Energy (general notice), and Environmental Protection Agency (“intent to RIF” notices).
NBC News quotes Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, who linked the president’s actions to “Project 2025’s playbook” and called them “cruel and unlawful.”
The Washington Post elaborates on the unions’ argument that RIFs during a shutdown would violate the Antideficiency Act, noting that administration officials had privately cautioned against this. It includes reactions from federal workers, such as Miles Batson of the Environmental Protection Agency union, and describes how many dismissals affected offices serving vulnerable populations. It also mentions that Commerce, HHS, HUD, and DHS recalled furloughed employees to work on the RIF process and references an OMB X post warning about continuing RIFs.
The Wall Street Journal highlights the Antideficiency Act as a key union argument requiring agencies to cease most operations during a shutdown, and notes that Senate Republicans were pushing for a short-term spending bill through November 21, which Democrats refused without funding for health insurance subsidies. It also cites Vice President JD Vance’s statement on Fox News that “the deeper the cuts are going to be” if the shutdown continued.
Contrasting Details
Administration’s Stance on Irreparable Harm and Justification for Layoffs:
NBC News and The Washington Post report that Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Themins Hedges (NBC News) and the government’s attorney (The Washington Post) argued that employment-related harms were “reparable” and not “irreparable harm,” and that the temporary restraining order was not warranted as dismissals wouldn’t take effect for two months anyway.
In contrast, The Wall Street Journal quotes Judge Illston stating that the administration’s approach was “very much ‘ready, fire, aim’ on most of these programs and it has a human cost,” directly refuting the idea of no irreparable harm. The Washington Post also quotes a union representative echoing the judge, “As the judge said, ‘the human cost cannot be tolerated.’”
Clarity and Consistency of Layoff Details from Administration:
The Wall Street Journal reports that Justice Department attorney Elizabeth Hedges argued that the majority of agencies hadn’t yet decided to send out RIFs and “in many cases there may never be RIFs at all.”
This contrasts with statements reported by The New York Times, CNN, and The Washington Post, which indicate Judge Illston raised concerns about the Trump administration having made misstatements, corrections, and omissions in its court documents regarding the size, scope, and timing of the layoffs, and had already started sending notices to thousands of employees. CNN specifically mentions the “chaotic” RIF process and erroneous notices.
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