SF’s US District Judge Susan Illston issued a temporary restraining order on the Trump administration’s attempt to fire thousands of federal workers during the government shutdown, effectively undoing many of those firings.
Now 15 days into the current federal government shutdown, President Trump has been very aggressive about using the shutdown as a pretext to fire thousands of federal employees at 30 different US government agencies. And they feel they’re just getting started, as Office of Management and Budget director Russell Vought said Wednesday morning that the administration hopes to fire as many as 10,000 employees.
Well, sorry Office of Management and Budget director Russell Vought, but that shit just came to a complete halt. The Chronicle reports that San Francisco’s US District Judge Susan Illston just halted the firings of government employees by issuing a restraining order, ruling in a lawsuit brought by federal employee unions.
Illston pointed out in her ruling that the employees’ firings came “for reasons unrelated to their job performance.” And in a pretty pointed political remark, her ruling also added that “The politics that infuses what’s going on is being Trumped out loud.”
These job positions were created by appropriations from the US Congress, so Illston argued that the president does not have the authority to eliminate them. “Overturning agency mandates Congress has put in place — they can’t do that,” Illston wrote, according to NPR.
Illston’s ruling effectively reverses any firings that have been ordered since October 10, and prohibits any more for the duration of her temporary restraining order. The lawsuit in question here was brought by the federal worker unions the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME),
As the Chronicle notes, many of these firings were DOGE-style screw-ups. In one case, the Trump administration had meant to fire 982 employees, but accidentally sent the pink slips to 1,760 workers, due to “data discrepancies and processing errors.” Illston also cited that OMB director Vought had publicly declared “Let’s cause trauma to the workplace” with the reductions in force, showing the firings were political and not justified for any rationale related to the government’s effectiveness.
Illston’s restraining order is temporary, and she could reverse it at another hearing in about two weeks. There is little reason to be optimistic that the government shutdown will be over by that time.
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