Judge blocks Trump from firing federal workers during shutdown

A federal judge on Wednesday blocked President Donald Trump from firing federal workers amid a government shutdown in yet another instance of a court blocking executive actions, despite a Supreme Court decision meant to limit such stays.

U.S. District Judge Susan Illston issued the decision, saying “It’s 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," she said, according to the Associated Press. The government shutdown began earlier this month after the Senate failed to approve a resolution to keep the government open.

Republicans have accused Democrats of seeking to fund health care for illegal aliens while Democrats insist they want to lower costs for Americans.

Since returning to the White House, Trump has faced an unprecedented number of judicial orders blocking his administration's actions. 

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court narrowed the scope of specific injunctions related to his birthright citizenship order and sharply criticized the lower courts for their excessive use of judicial stays.

Associate Justice Samuel Alito, however, warned that lower courts could work around the decision by granting sweeping class action status. Several judges have since employed exactly that tactic in issuing nationwide blocks.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X.