SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s administration Wednesday from firing workers during the government shutdown, saying the cuts appeared to be politically motivated and were being carried out without much thought.
U.S. District Judge Susan Illston in San Francisco repeatedly pressed the assistant U.S. attorney to explain the administration's rationale for the more than 4,100 layoff notices that started going out Friday even though furloughed workers cannot access their work emails and there are no human resources specialists to assist with next steps.
“It’s very much ready, fire, aim on most of these programs, and it has a human cost,” she said. "It’s a human cost that cannot be tolerated.”
She granted a temporary restraining order blocking the job cuts, saying she believed the evidence ultimately would show the cuts were illegal and in excess of authority.
Students from Columbus, Ohio, wait outside a barrier as U.S. Capitol Police watch over the East Plaza where congressional leaders will have a news conferences on the government shutdown at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
The White House and the Office of Management and Budget did not immediately respond to emails sent after the judge's ruling.
The American Federation of Government Employees and other federal labor unions asked Illston to block the administration from issuing new layoff notices and implementing those that were already sent out. The unions said the firings were an abuse of power designed to punish workers and pressure Congress.
“The president seems to think his government shutdown is distracting people from the harmful and lawlessness actions of his administration, but the American people are holding him accountable, including in the courts," said Skye Perryman, president and CEO of legal organization Democracy Forward. “Our civil servants do the work of the people, and playing games with their livelihoods is cruel and unlawful and a threat to everyone in our nation.”
Illston’s order came as the shutdown, which started Oct. 1, entered its third week.
FILE - A sign that reads "Closed due to federal government shutdown," is seen outside of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, Oct. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
Democratic lawmakers say a deal to reopen the federal government must address their health care demands. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., predicted the shutdown may become the longest in history, saying he “won’t negotiate” with Democrats until they pause those demands and reopen the government.
Democrats demand that health care subsidies, first put in place in 2021 and extended a year later, be extended again. They also want a government funding bill to reverse the Medicaid cuts in Trump's big tax breaks and spending cuts law passed this summer.
The Trump administration has been paying the military and pursuing its crackdown on immigration while slashing jobs in health and education, including in special education and after-school programs. Trump said programs favored by Democrats are being targeted and “they’re never going to come back, in many cases.”
In a court filing, the Republican administration said it planned to fire more than 4,100 employees across eight agencies.
In a related case, Illston blocked the administration from carrying out much of its plans to reduce the size of the federal workforce. However, the Supreme Court said the administration could continue firing workers while the lawsuit is pending.
The unions say the layoff notices are an illegal attempt at political pressure and retribution and are based on the false premise that a temporary funding lapse eliminates Congress’ authorization of agency programs.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Hedges said in court Wednesday that the district court lacks jurisdiction to hear employment decisions made by federal agencies. Under prodding by the judge, Hedges said she was not prepared to discuss the merits of the case, only reasons why a temporary restraining order should not be issued.
Illston was nominated to the bench by former President Bill Clinton, a Democrat.
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What photos show about the U.S. government shutdown
Stairs lead to the Capitol Visitors Center with just days to go before federal money runs out with the end of the fiscal year, in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
President Donald Trump walks from Marine One after arriving on the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., center, flanked by Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., left, and Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass., arrives to speak on the steps of the Capitol to insist that Republicans include an extension of expiring health care benefits as part of a government funding compromise, in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
The sun sets behind the Capitol and Washington Monument, as a vote fails in the Senate which is expected to lead to a government shutdown, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, as seen from inside the Capitol, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Visitors tour the Capitol Rotunda as the government lurches toward a shutdown at midnight if the Senate does not pass a House measure that would extend federal funding for seven weeks, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., speaks to reporters Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, as the U.S. government is on the brink of the first federal government shutdown in almost seven years.. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., listens as he speaks to reporters Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Kaitlin and Kurt Wilhelm, of Sandusky, Ohio, foreground, and others gather on the rocky coast to watch the sunrise, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025, in Acadia National Park, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
A visitor walks at the Lincoln Memorial at sunrise on Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
American flags fly in front of the U.S. Capitol at sunrise, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
The U.S. Capitol is seen at sunrise as cars drive on Pennsylvania Ave. during rush hour traffic, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Tourist view Independence Hall from outside a barricade in Philadelphia, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., gives a tour of the Capitol to a group of students from New York after their previously-scheduled tour was canceled due to the government shutdown on Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., the Senate GOP whip, left, and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., right, arrive for a news conference with top Republicans on the government shutdown, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
A sign alerting visitors that the Royal Palm Visitor Center is closed hangs in a display case reflecting the landscape, inside Florida's Everglades National Park, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
A sign announces that the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center is closed, on the first day of a partial government shutdown, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
People take photos with a sign announcing that the Library of Congress is closed, on the first day of a partial government shutdown, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
People look through fence to get a glance at the Statue of Liberty in New York, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
A tourist stops to read the sign announcing that the Washington Monument is closed on the first day of a partial government shutdown, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025, inWashington.(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Christy Lock and Curt Rohrman, from Houston get a phone call informing them their tickets for a tram ride to the top of Gateway Arch are cancelled due to the federal government shutdown and that they will be receiving a refund on Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025 in St. Louis. (David Carson/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)
National Park Service law enforcement ranger Greg Freeman opens a locked gate closing vehicle access to the Shark Valley section of Florida's Everglades National Park, as he drives into the park, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
People look at the Golden Gate Bridge outside the Fort Point National Historic Site, which is closed due to a government shutdown, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, of N.Y., walks to a press conference on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Layne Morrison, left, of Washington, and Courtney Creek, of Silver Spring, Md., who were let go from their jobs with the Education Department and a USAID funded grant respectively, hold signs about the looming government shutdown, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, on Capitol Hill in Washington, during a rally with former federal employees. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
