Copyright timesnownews
A US federal judge in San Francisco has indefinitely barred the Donald Trump administration from firing federal employees during the ongoing government shutdown. District Judge Susan Illston granted a preliminary injunction on Tuesday, preventing the dismissals while a lawsuit challenging them proceeds. She had earlier issued a temporary restraining order that was set to expire on Wednesday. Illston, who was appointed by former Democratic President Bill Clinton, said she believes evidence will ultimately show that the mass firings were unlawful and exceeded the administration’s authority. The American Federation of Government Employees and several other labour unions have sued to stop the layoffs, described as "reductions in force", arguing they were politically motivated and aimed at punishing workers and pressuring Congress. Also Read: US CDC Layoff Reversal - How A ‘Coding Error’ Led To Mass Firings During The Shutdown Government lawyers have countered that the district court does not have jurisdiction over personnel disputes. During a hearing on October 15, Judge Illston said the layoff notices, which began going out around 10 October, appeared to be politically driven and poorly planned. About 4,100 such notices have been issued so far, some sent to work email addresses that furloughed employees are unable to access. In some cases, personnel were called back to work—without pay—to deliver the termination notices. The shutdown, now the second-longest in US history, has stretched on amid a standoff between the White House and Congress. The longest shutdown also occurred under Donald Trump’s presidency, lasting 35 days in 2019 during a dispute over funding for a wall on the Mexican border. Democratic lawmakers are demanding that any agreement to reopen the government include measures to extend expiring health care subsidies and reverse Medicaid cuts introduced under Trump’s recent tax and spending legislation. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has so far refused to negotiate until Democrats agree to reopen the government. The Trump administration has defended the job cuts, saying they target departments such as education and health, which it claims have been historically favoured by Democrats. It has also said it will not use roughly $5 billion in contingency funds to sustain the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) into November. Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from US News and around the World.
