Judge extends order blocking Trump administration from laying off workers during shutdown

A federal judge has indefinitely barred the Trump administration from firing government employees due to the shutdown while a lawsuit challenging the effort makes its way through the courts.

U.S. District Judge Susan Illston granted a preliminary injunction during a hearing in San Francisco on Tuesday. She said she believes the reductions-in-force — the government’s term for layoffs — were unlawful and the administration does not have the authority to continue them.

Illston previously issued a temporary block on the layoffs earlier this month, after a group of unions representing federal workers sued the government, calling the cuts unlawful and arbitrary. The administration has argued it has the authority to carry out layoffs.

The Trump administration has sought to lay off thousands of workers since the shutdown began. The executive branch typically sends nonessential workers home without pay during government shutdowns, rather than permanently laying them off.