On October 15, 2025, a pivotal decision from a federal courtroom in San Francisco sent shockwaves through Washington, D.C., and federal agencies across the United States. U.S. District Judge Susan Illston ordered President Donald Trump’s administration to immediately halt mass layoffs of federal workers during the ongoing government shutdown, a move that came as thousands of government employees faced uncertainty about their jobs and paychecks.
The partial government shutdown, which began on October 1, 2025, has now stretched into its third week, marking the first shutdown of this scale since 2018. According to BBC, Judge Illston’s temporary restraining order came at the request of two of the country’s largest public sector unions—the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). These unions argued that the Trump administration was unlawfully using the lapse in government funding as a pretext to downsize the federal workforce, targeting more than 30 agencies for job cuts.
During a tense hearing, Judge Illston was unambiguous in her criticism of the administration’s approach. She cited a series of public statements by President Trump and White House Budget Director Russell Vought that, in her view, revealed explicit political motivations for the layoffs. “You can’t do that in a nation of laws. And we have laws here, and the things that are being articulated here are not within the law,” Illston stated, according to AFP. She described the administration’s actions as “very much ready, fire, aim on most of these programs, and it has a human cost. It’s a human cost that cannot be tolerated.”
The judge’s order temporarily blocks layoffs that had already begun to ripple through federal agencies. Just days earlier, major departments such as Treasury and Health and Human Services (HHS) had confirmed that they were issuing layoff notices. A filing from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) reviewed by Business Insider indicated that between 4,132 and 4,232 federal workers were marked for layoffs as of October 10, 2025. The cuts were not evenly distributed: the Treasury Department planned to lay off approximately 1,446 employees, while HHS anticipated 1,100 to 1,200 layoffs—though later clarified that only about half that number would ultimately be let go. The Departments of Education and Housing and Urban Development each intended to cut at least 400 employees, with the Departments of Commerce, Energy, and Homeland Security planning reductions ranging from 176 to 315 workers.
For many federal employees, the uncertainty has been agonizing. Hundreds of thousands remain furloughed or are working without pay. Staff at agencies as varied as the National Park Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Internal Revenue Service have reported to Business Insider that they are cutting back on household spending, pausing children’s extracurricular activities, and even applying for food stamps. Financial institutions like the Navy Federal Credit Union and USAA, as well as state agencies such as the Maryland Department of Labor, have stepped in to offer bridge loans to affected workers, with a noticeable spike in applications.
The legal battle over the layoffs centers on whether the administration’s actions are justified during a funding lapse. The unions argue that implementing mass layoffs is not an essential government service that can be performed during a shutdown. They further contend that the move is illegal because most federal workers have already been furloughed without pay, and the layoffs appear designed to exert political pressure on Democratic lawmakers. AFSCME President Lee Saunders hailed the judge’s decision, stating, “This decision affirms that these threatened mass firings are likely illegal and blocks layoff notices from going out.” AFGE National President Everett Kelley echoed this sentiment, saying, “We are pleased with the court’s ruling halting these unlawful terminations and preventing the administration from further targeting hardworking civil servants during the shutdown.”
The Trump administration, however, maintains that the layoffs are necessary and within its legal authority. White House Budget Director Russell Vought asserted on “The Charlie Kirk Show” that more than 10,000 federal workers could ultimately lose their jobs because of the shutdown. He explained that the OMB had directed agencies to consider terminating employees working in programs “not consistent with the President’s priorities.” A spokesperson for the Department of Energy went further, telling Business Insider that affected employees “played a major role in the Biden administration’s war on American Energy.”
Political tensions in Congress have only added fuel to the fire. With Republicans controlling both chambers, but holding only a slim majority in the Senate, the government remains at an impasse. According to BBC, Republicans have called for a “clean” funding resolution that would simply continue current spending levels, while Democrats have stood firm in demanding that any deal to reopen the government address rising healthcare costs for lower-income Americans and reverse Medicaid cuts included in President Trump’s tax and spending bill passed earlier this year. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson predicted that the shutdown could become the longest in history, declaring he “won’t negotiate” with Democrats until they pause their demands and agree to reopen the government.
Meanwhile, the effects of the shutdown and the threatened layoffs have been felt far beyond the halls of Congress. The Trump administration has continued to pay the military and pursue its crackdown on immigration, but it has slashed jobs in health and education, including in special education and after-school programs. President Trump himself has been candid about the political motivations behind the cuts, saying that programs favored by Democrats are being targeted and “they’re never going to come back, in many cases.”
Even the process of issuing layoff notices has not gone smoothly. At the CDC, around 700 employees initially received reduction-in-force (RIF) notices in error, only to have those notices rescinded over the weekend. However, more than 600 CDC workers remain without jobs, according to union officials cited by Business Insider.
This latest round of layoffs comes on top of a year of deep cuts to the federal workforce. Since President Trump took office in January 2025, over 200,000 federal workers have lost their jobs, either through layoffs, retirements, or voluntary departures. A Supreme Court ruling on July 8, 2025, gave the administration the green light to continue mass firings—though Judge Illston’s restraining order now throws that authority into question, at least temporarily.
The legal fight is far from over. The Trump administration is expected to appeal Wednesday’s decision, and the Department of Justice has argued that employment disputes of this nature should be handled by a federal labor board, not the courts. As the shutdown drags on and the fate of thousands of federal workers hangs in the balance, the country watches closely to see whether the courts, Congress, or the White House will blink first.
For now, the judge’s order has given federal employees a brief reprieve, but the uncertainty and political brinkmanship show no signs of abating. The human cost, as Judge Illston warned, is already being felt in homes and communities across the nation.
