US Judge Blocks Trump’s Mass Layoffs During Shutdown
A US judge has issued a temporary order blocking the Trump administration from carrying out mass layoffs of federal workers during the ongoing government shutdown. The ruling came after the White House announced plans to fire over 10,000 employees. Judge Susan Illston granted the restraining order in response to a lawsuit from labor unions, which argued the layoffs were illegal and that workers couldn't properly respond because official notices were sent to inaccessible government email accounts. The administration had already terminated over 4,000 workers last Friday. The shutdown, now in its third week, has left an estimated 1.4 million federal employees either working without pay or on forced unpaid leave. The political standoff in Congress continues, with the Senate failing for the ninth time to pass a funding bill to reopen the government.