Federal Judge Halts Trump's Firing Spree During Shutdown

A federal judge in San Francisco recently made a big decision. She stopped the Trump administration from firing federal workers during the government shutdown. The judge said that the firings seemed unfair and might be politically driven. The judge, Susan Illston, issued an order that lasts until the lawsuit is resolved. She had already put a temporary stop to the firings, but this new order makes it last longer. The order prevents federal agencies from sending out layoff notices or acting on ones already sent since the shutdown started in October. The Trump administration has been cutting jobs in areas like education and health, which are often supported by Democrats. They also decided not to use extra funds to keep the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) running through November. Labor unions, like the American Federation of Government Employees, sued to stop these firings. They believe the firings are an abuse of power meant to punish workers and pressure Congress. The unions argue that President Trump is using the shutdown as an excuse to fire workers he disagrees with. The White House did not comment directly but referred questions to the Office of Management and Budget, which did not respond. The government's lawyers say the court does not have the authority to hear these challenges. They argue that Trump has the power to reduce the federal workforce, as he promised during his campaign. About 4, 100 layoff notices have been sent out since October 10th. Some workers were even called back to work without pay to issue these notices. The lawsuit has grown to include more unions and covers all Cabinet departments and several independent agencies. Democratic lawmakers want any deal to reopen the government to include fixing health care subsidies and reversing Medicaid cuts. However, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson refuses to negotiate until Democrats agree to reopen the government first. This shutdown is now the second-longest in U. S. history. The longest one happened during Trump's first term over his demand for funds to build the U. S. -Mexico border wall. That shutdown ended in 2019 after 35 days.