Trump Likely Violated Layoff Freeze, Federal Judge Says (2)

The Trump administration appears to be flouting a court order halting mass government layoffs, a federal judge said Wednesday.

Judge Susan Illston of the US District Court for the Northern District of California ordered the administration to prove by June 9 that two sets of layoffs—at the departments of State and Housing and Urban Development—don’t violate a preliminary injunction issued by the court last month.

The order marks another setback for the Trump administration as it fights to cut the size of the government, and adds another layer of complexity to the high-stakes legal challenge. Union plaintiffs told the court ...