A federal judge has temporarily blocked President Trump from firing federal workers, CNBC reports.
The ruling follows the Trump Administration’s move to permanently remove about 4000 workers during the government shutdown.
“The activities that are being undertaken here are contrary to the laws,” San Francisco U.S. District Court Judge Susan Yvonne Illston told lawyers for the administration on Wednesday at a hearing where she issued the temporary restraining order.
“You can’t do this in a nation of laws,” Illston said, according to NBC News.
Two unions representing tens of thousands of federal workers had asked Illston to block the RIFs. The Trump administration had warned that it would lay off workers during the shutdown, and President Donald Trump has repeatedly said that the cuts were aimed at “Democrat agencies” or initiatives.
Democracy Forward, an advocacy group representing the unions in court, praised the judge’s order.
The group stated that the move by Trump was taken directly from Project 2025’s playbook.
Project 2025 was released during the last Presidential election and left-wing groups tried their best to tie it to President Trump’s campaign.
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