Legal Halt on Government Job Cuts
A mandate to momentarily stop the government from dismissing numerous federal employees during the government standstill has been given by a judge. This development followed an announcement from the government that several departments had initiated the termination of about 4,000 employees.
Judge's Decision
United States District Judge Susan Illston responded positively to a plea from two unions, subsequently preventing job cuts in more than 30 departments. During the court session, Judge Illston expressed agreement with the unions, stating that the administration was illegitimately utilizing the lack of funding, which started in October, to bring about its intentions to reduce the size of the federal government.
Moreover, the judge pointed to several public declarations by the President and the official in charge of the administration's budget, Russell Vought. She noted the clear political intentions behind the job cuts, including the President's statement that reductions would focus on "Democrat agencies".
Legal Counterarguments
However, a lawyer from the US justice department stated that the unions should first present their complaints to a federal labor board before resorting to the courts. It is anticipated that the government will appeal against this injunction.
Announcements of Layoffs
Several significant departments, including Treasury and Health and Human Services, have confirmed that they were in the process of issuing termination notices to their employees. Homeland Security also stated it would be letting go of staff within its Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.
Documents from the Office of Management and Budget revealed that over a quarter of these cuts were to take place in the Treasury Department, where notices were being distributed to approximately 1,446 employees. The Health and Human Services Department was informing between 1,100 and 1,200 of its staff, but later clarified that only about half of that number were actually being let go.
The Departments of Education and Housing and Urban Development each planned to relieve at least 400 employees of their duties, while the Departments of Commerce, Energy, Housing and Urban Development, and Homeland Security were each intending to cut between 176 to 315 employees.
Future Plans
Vought has indicated that there are intentions to let go of more than 10,000 federal employees in total during the shutdown. He mentioned that the 4,000 layoffs were "merely a glimpse and I believe the number will climb significantly higher". Vought maintained that the cuts would continue during the shutdown "as we believe it's crucial to remain proactive for the American taxpayer and the American people". He later suggested that the layoffs could reach "somewhere beyond 10,000".
Union's Response
In response to the comments from Vought and the President about potential layoffs, two large unions, the American Federation of Government Employees and AFL-CIO, had already lodged a lawsuit and then asked Judge Illston for an emergency injunction while the case is ongoing. They argued that implementing layoffs is not a critical service that can be performed during a lapse in government funding. They also argued that the shutdown does not justify mass layoffs because most federal employees have been furloughed without pay.
Political Standoff
With the government shutdown now entering its third week, the US Senate once again failed to pass a resolution that would reopen the government - the ninth failed attempt. Republicans, who hold power in both houses of Congress as well as the White House, blame Democrats for the deadlock, saying they should agree to pass a "clean" funding resolution that would simply continue current spending levels. Democrats, however, have remained largely united in advocating for a resolution that addresses rising health care costs for lower-income Americans.