Judge Says State Department Firings Violate Injunction (2)

A federal judge ordered the government to freeze staff cuts at the US Department of State, saying the Trump administration violated an earlier court order barring widespread layoffs.

Judge Susan Illston of the US District Court for the Northern District of California told the administration to withhold layoff notices scheduled to be sent on Saturday, rejecting the claim that the reductions were unrelated to President Donald Trump’s Feb. 11 order to implement Department of Government Efficiency cuts. That executive order was blocked by a preliminary injunction while the case moves forward.

Illston’s Friday order could apply to other agency layoffs while Trump’s executive order on workforce reductions is tied up in court, posing another obstacle to the president’s mission to shrink the government. Last week, however, the Trump administration asked the US Supreme Court to lift Illston’s May preliminary injunction, which has stalled 40 planned layoffs at more than a dozen agencies.

The “whole problem” with the executive order is a lack of congressional approval, Illston said.

“Congress and the president need to be on the same page about these things, and he has just struck out on his own,” she said.

Lawmakers are debating Trump’s request to cancel $9.4 billion in spending already approved by Congress, including funds for public media, global health, and refugee assistance.

The Department of Justice also sought to walk back previous statements that the State Department cuts were related to the DOGE order. On Friday, Daniel Holler, deputy chief of staff for Secretary of State Marco Rubio, filed a declaration with the court saying that agency materials submitted to Congress “were not properly vetted,” and wrongly attributed the reorganization effort to Trump’s broad-cost-cutting order. He said they were driven solely by Rubio.

“The materials were prepared by the State Department Bureau of Legislative Affairs, and were not sufficiently reviewed by State Department leadership, including the State leadership overseeing the ongoing reorganization,” Holler wrote.

Illston didn’t rule on another set of disputed layoffs planned for the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, saying she needed more information. Those cuts concern fewer than 100 probationary employees.

Illston ordered HUD to provide a copy of its reorganization plans, including any versions approved by the Offices of Personnel Management and Office of Management and Budget.

The case is AFGE v. Trump, N.D. Cal., No. 3:25-cv-03698, order.