Executive Branch

Federal Judge Blocks State Department From Carrying Out Mass Layoffs

The ruling expands a prior injunction against the Trump administration’s sweeping federal workforce reorganization directive.
Federal Judge Blocks State Department From Carrying Out Mass Layoffs
Secretary of State Marco Rubio testifies before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on Capitol Hill on May 20, 2025. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times
Tom Ozimek
Tom Ozimek
Reporter
|Updated:
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A federal judge in California has temporarily blocked the U.S. State Department from moving forward with a planned reorganization involving approximately 2,000 layoffs.

During a virtual hearing on June 13, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston said that her earlier order—issued in May to halt mass federal layoffs directed by President Donald Trump—also applies to the State Department’s planned workforce reduction. The Department of Justice acknowledged during the hearing that layoff notices set to be issued on Saturday would no longer go out.
Tom Ozimek
Tom Ozimek
Reporter
Tom Ozimek is a senior reporter for The Epoch Times. He has a broad background in journalism, deposit insurance, marketing and communications, and adult education.
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