A Clinton-appointed judge in San Francisco temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s plan to lay off thousands of federal employees amid the ongoing government shutdown, multiple outlets reported Wednesday.
U.S. District Judge Susan Illston issued the emergency order on Wednesday after agencies began sending layoff notices on Friday, according to multiple outlets. Federal labor unions, including the American Federation of Government Employees, had asked for the temporary restraining order to block the administration from carrying out mass layoffs during the shutdown.
“It’s very much ready, fire, aim on most of these programs, and it has a human cost,” Ilston said, according to the Associated Press.” It’s a human cost that cannot be tolerated.”
The RIFs have begun.
— Russ Vought (@russvought) October 10, 2025
Should the Trump administration be allowed to lay off workers during the government shutdown?
The Office of Management and Budget directed agencies to draft reduction-in-force plans for individuals employed in programs that have no current funding source nor align with the president’s agenda.
Since the shutdown began, the administration has issued reduction-in-force notices to more than 4,000 employees, including all employees of the Community Financial Institutions Fund. However, OMB Director Russ Vought said Wednesday during his appearance on “The Charlie Kirk Show” that the total could rise to more than 10,000.
The Trump administration has long advocated for a smaller federal government and has taken concrete steps to reduce spending since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term. Its efforts through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have yielded more than $214 billion in reported savings, according to the agency’s latest estimates.
Government funding lapsed on Oct. 1 after a majority of Senate Democrats rejected a clean bipartisan spending bill to avert a shutdown. Since then, Democrats have voted against funding measures eight times, insisting on extending Obamacare subsidy expansions projected to cost hundreds of billions of dollars over the next decade.
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