Federal judge orders temporary halt to Trump administration's government overhaul
The ruling by Judge Susan Illston of San Francisco thus halts the massive layoffs that the DOGE had planned at federal agencies as part of its efficiency and cuts program.
Federal employee demonstration.
President Donald Trump's administration must temporarily halt its sweeping government overhaul because Congress did not authorize the large-scale staffing cuts and agency restructuring, a federal judge said Friday.
California U.S. District Judge Susan Illston on Friday ordered a two-week hold on those plans and argued that the Trump administration's plans likely require prior congressional authorization.
"The Court holds the President likely must request Congressional cooperation to order the changes he seeks, and thus issues a temporary restraining order to pause large-scale reductions in force in the meantime," Illston wrote.
The ruling is the broadest of its kind against government reform led by Elon Musk as a White House advisor and head of the Department of Government Efficiency.
In a Feb. 11 executive order, Trump called for "critical transformation of the federal bureaucracy" and urged agencies to get rid of nonessential workers.
A coalition of unions, nonprofits and the governments of six cities and counties last week sued Trump, the DOGE and various federal agencies for exceeding their authority by implementing these layoffs without a green light from Congress.
Following the judge's decision, the whistleblowers asserted in a joint statement that Trump's plan "has thrown agencies into chaos, disrupting critical services provided across our nation."
In addition to laying off thousands of government employees, the Republican president shut down multiple USAID humanitarian aid programs and diversity initiatives in the federal administration.
However, in several cases, his administration's policies, including some on immigration or government spending, were rejected by the courts.
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