A US federal judge has temporarily stopped the government from laying off thousands of federal employees during the ongoing government shutdown. The decision came from Judge Susan Illston of the US District Court for the Northern District of California, according to NBC News. The ruling followed a lawsuit filed by labour unions representing federal workers, who accused the White House of overstepping its authority amid the shutdown.

Judge Criticizes Government’s Actions

During the hearing, Judge Illston said she would likely side with the unions. “I am inclined to grant the plaintiff’s motion,” she stated. The judge added, “The evidence suggests that the office of management and budget, OMB, and the office of personnel management, OPM, have taken advantage of the lapse in government spending, in government functioning to assume that all bets are off, that the laws don’t apply to them any more, and that they can impose the structures that they like on the government situation that they don’t like, and I find, I believe, that the plaintiffs will demonstrate, ultimately, that what’s being done here is both illegal and is in excess of authority and is arbitrary and capricious.”

Judge Illston said the temporary restraining order would stay in effect for now. The Justice Department’s attorney, Elizabeth Hedges, said she was not ready to argue the case in detail.

White House Officials Hint at More Layoffs

The ruling came shortly after Russ Vought, Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), hinted that more job cuts could follow. Speaking on The Charlie Kirk Show, he said the number of layoffs could be “north of 10,000” workers.

Trump Administration’s Move to Cut Federal Jobs

Last week, the Trump administration announced “reductions in force” across seven federal agencies, impacting nearly 4,000 employees. Officials defended the decision, saying the shutdown justified the firings.

However, unions strongly opposed the move. On September 30, two major groups — the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) — filed a lawsuit to stop the layoffs.

The unions accused the OMB of breaking the law by threatening mass terminations and ordering staff to carry out related work during the shutdown. They sought a court injunction to block all dismissals.

Unions Call Firings “Unprecedented”

Union leaders said no previous US administration had ever fired workers during a shutdown. Everett Kelley, president of AFGE, said, “In [the] AFGE’s 93 years of existence under several presidential administrations – including during Trump’s first term – no president has ever decided to fire thousands of furloughed workers during a government shutdown.”

Kelley added, “The AFGE is currently challenging President Trump’s illegal, unprecedented abuse of power, and we will not stop fighting until every reduction-in-force notice is rescinded.”