US District Judge Susan Illston on Tuesday again sided with federal workers over President Donald Trump's administration, indefinitely extending her block on the mass firing of government employees during the second-longest shutdown in history.
The San Francisco-based judge, nominated by former Democratic President Bill Clinton, granted a preliminary injunction after previously issuing a temporary restraining order in a case launched late last month by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).
"Today's ruling is another victory for federal workers and our ongoing efforts to protect their jobs from an administration hellbent on illegally firing them," said AFSCME president Lee Saunders in a statement. "Unlike the billionaires in this administration, public service workers dedicate themselves to serving their communities. These attempted mass firings would devastate both the workers and the people they serve. We will keep fighting to protect public service jobs against this administration's unlawful efforts to eliminate them."
During the shutdown, some federal workers are furloughed while others keep working; none are paid until the government reopens. With AFGE members facing such conditions, national president Everett Kelley on Monday called for Congress to "reopen the government immediately under a clean continuing resolution," effectively siding with Trump and Republican lawmakers over Democrats who are fighting for legislation to protect the healthcare of tens of millions of Americans.
Just a day later, the union leader took aim at the president while welcoming Illston's new ruling. "President Trump is using the government shutdown as a pretense to illegally fire thousands of federal workers—specifically those employees carrying out programs and policies that the administration finds objectionable," he said. "We thank the court for keeping in place its order preventing the administration from firing workers due to the shutdown while we continue our litigation in court."
The judge's previous order was set to expire on Wednesday. After she issued it, several other unions—the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), National Association of Government Employees (NAGE), National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE), Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU)—joined the case.
"This federal court decision is the result of organized labor standing together and leading the fight against the administration's unprecedented, politicized, and unlawful attack on federal workers' rights," declared IFPTE president Matt Biggs. "This is not only a win for the dedicated federal workforce who make up our nonpartisan civil service, but a victory for the American people and the public services our communities and our economy count on."
Tuesday's injunction prevents new reductions in force (RIFs) as well as the "implementation of the roughly 4,000 layoffs that agencies have already ordered," Government Executive reported.
According to the outlet:
The judge said she would clarify the exact scope of the order later on Tuesday in writing, but added in essence federal agencies "are enjoined from issuing any more RIF notices." Michael Velchik, a Justice Department attorney arguing on behalf of the administration, asked that cuts in the US Patent and Trademark Office and the Interior Department not be included in the order as those layoffs were underway long before the shutdown commenced. Illston said she would likely hold a further evidentiary hearing to make that determination.
USPTO already sent RIF notices to about 1% of its workforce, while Interior is planning to lay off thousands of workers.
The unions are represented by Altshuler Berzon LLP, Democracy Defenders Fund, and Democracy Forward, whose president and CEO, Skye Perryman, framed the new injunction as a rejection of the Trump administration's purge of the federal government—which preceded the shutdown and is a key part of Project 2025, a sweeping policy playbook authored last year by various far-right figures, including Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought.
"This order is positive for the American people and a major blow to the Trump-Vance administration's unlawful attempt to make the Project 2025 playbook a reality by targeting our nation's career public servants, who work for all Americans," she said. "Our team is honored to represent the civil servants who are fighting back against President Trump's dangerous agenda, and to have won this crucial injunction that will help stop federal workers from continuing to be targeted and harassed by this administration during the shutdown."
