Department of Education workers acknowledge a crowd of supporters before entering the Department of Education building to clear out their desks on March 28, 2025. President Trump signed an executive order attempting to eliminate the U.S. Education Department on March 20, 2025. Congress would ultimately need to approve a closure of the Education Department, but Trump's workforce reduction will shrink it.

A federal judge in California ordered the Trump administration to temporarily halt layoffs that were announced Oct. 10 and more that are pending and blamed on the government shutdown.

The American Federation of Government Employees had sued to block 4,000 layoffs already announced, along with more that President Donald Trump announced would happen Oct. 17. The union argued the layoffs were unlawful because they were arbitrary and capricious.

The government opposed halting the layoffs by arguing a lawsuit was unnecessary because workers could appeal their dismissals administratively to the Merit Systems Protection Board rather than through the courts.

U.S. District Judge Susan Illston temporarily halted all layoffs imposed or pending. She expects another hearing within two weeks on whether to extend the block longer.

"This hatchet is falling on the heads of employees all across the nation and you’re not even prepared to address whether that’s legal?" Illston asked.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Hedges had argued that the temporary halt in layoffs was unnecessary because it would expire sooner than workers would actually lose their jobs 60 days after they are notified of layoffs.

But Danielle Leonard, a lawyer for the union, said workers were traumatized by the layoffs occurring during furloughs when they are unpaid and don’t have access to their email. She said some workers are being made to work without pay to process the paperwork to fire their fellow workers.

"It is traumatic. It is distressing. It is preventing employees from clarifying mistakes," Leonard said.

AFGE President Everett Kelley, who called the layoffs "not only cruel but unlawful," said the union was pleased with the "ruling halting these unlawful terminations and preventing the administration from further targeting hardworking civil servants during the shutdown."

The Education Department laid off about 20% of its workforce. The Department of Health and Human Services has said it mistakenly fired about twice as many workers as intended.

Russell Vought, the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, said Oct. 15 while the hearing was underway that the administration expects to lay off more than 10,000 workers.

"I think we’ll probably end up being north of 10,000," Vought told "The Charlie Kirk Show," the podcast of the late conservative activist, about the layoffs called reductions-in-force or RIFs.

"We’re going to keep those RIFs rolling throughout the shutdown because we think it’s important to stay on offensive for the American taxpayer," Vought said.

Trump told reporters Oct. 14 that he would announce more layoffs and list "Democrat agencies" he is eliminating permanently on Oct. 17.

Hedges had argued that agencies were still developing their layoff plans so that the judge shouldn’t block them before they are finalized.

"The situation on the ground is in flux," Hedges said. "Individual agencies are still making those decisions."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Hatchet is falling': Judge temporarily halts Trump shutdown layoffs

Reporting by Bart Jansen, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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