SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal judge said Wednesday she was inclined to block President Donald Trump’s administration for now from firing workers during the government shutdown, saying she believed the evidence would ultimately show they were illegal and in excess of authority.
U.S. District Judge Susan Illston made the comments during a hearing on an emergency order sought by labor unions to block the layoffs. The hearing was continuing, and the judge did not immediately issue a ruling.
Federal agencies on Friday started issuing layoff notices aimed at reducing the size of the federal government. The layoff notices are part of an effort by Trump’s Republican administration to exert more pressure on Democratic lawmakers as the government shutdown continues.
Illston said the administration was acting without thinking through its decisions.
“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.”
The American Federation of Government Employees and other federal labor unions have asked Illston for a temporary restraining order blocking 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 hearing came as the shutdown, which started Oct. 1, entered its third week. Democratic lawmakers are demanding that any deal to reopen the federal government address their health care demands. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson predicted the shutdown may become the longest in history, saying he “won’t negotiate” with Democrats until they hit pause on those demands and reopen.
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 administration said it planned to fire more than 4,100 employees across eight agencies.
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.
The government says the district court lacks jurisdiction to hear employment decisions made by federal agencies.
Follow the AP’s coverage of the federal government shutdown at https://apnews.com/hub/government-shutdown.