A federal judge has extended an injunction indefinitely preventing the Trump administration from dismissing thousands of federal workers during the ongoing government shutdown.
U.S. District Judge Susan Illston in San Francisco ruled that the administration’s layoffs were likely unlawful and motivated by political retribution, halting any new reduction-in-force (RIF) notices and pausing existing layoffs until the government reopens or the court makes a final decision.
Judge Illston rejected the White House’s argument that agencies could stop certain programmes during the shutdown and criticised the targeted layoffs as exceeding legal authority. While some layoffs at agencies like the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and Department of the Interior began before the shutdown, she indicated further hearings would address those cases.
Unions representing federal employees—the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE)—hailed the ruling as a major win protecting public servants from illegal firings.
President Donald Trump had framed the shutdown as an “opportunity” to cut what he calls “Democrat Agencies,” with about 4,000 employees already issued RIF notices and White House Budget Director Russell Vought expecting over 10,000 layoffs. The judge described this mass firing plan as “unprecedented in our country’s history” and denied the administration’s request to delay the injunction during appeals.
Skye Perryman, CEO of Democracy Forward representing the unions, praised the injunction as a legal setback for the administration’s efforts to implement the Project 2025 agenda by targeting career public servants. The ruling also prevents layoffs in key departments and highlights judicial checks on executive actions during fiscal deadlock.
Additionally, the administration’s withholding of roughly $5 billion in contingency funding for social support programmes like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has raised further concerns about impacts on vulnerable populations.
The decision safeguards thousands of federal employees from job losses and shows the court’s role in enforcing lawful limits on executive power during politically charged shutdowns. It is expected to delay mass layoffs until the funding dispute resolves or further court rulings emerge, defending civil service rights amid an unprecedented government standstill.