Federal judge blocks Trump from firing employees during shutdown

By Andrew Rice
The Center Square

A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from firing employees during the partial government shutdown.

U.S. District Judge Susan Illston, who is based in California, said the cuts were motivated by applying political pressure and without consideration of potential effects on fired employees.

She also said the cuts appear to violate President Donald Trump’s executive authority, even in the midst of a government shutdown.

Trump and Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought have touted using the government shutdown as a way to expedite the executive branch’s firing authorities.

Federal agency websites have issued notices appearing to blame Democrats for the government shutdown and lapse in services as a result.

Federal agencies started issuing layoff notices to more than 4,000 employees on Friday, according to court filings. Federal employee unions filed a complaint against the Trump administration on Sept. 30, before the government shutdown began.

“The Trump administration has made unlawful threats to dismantle essential federal services and functions provided by federal personnel, deviating from historic practice and violating applicable law,” the unions wrote in a complaint.

In an interview on “The Charlie Kirk Show,” Vought said future layoffs of federal employees could surpass 10,000.

“We’re going to keep those rolling throughout the shutdown, because we think it’s important to stay on offense for the American taxpayer,” Vought said.