A federal judge wants details on the Trump administration’s plans to fire agency staff during the government shutdown.
In an order issued late Tuesday, Senior Judge Susan Illston of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California said the White House budget office must provide specifics on the status of any layoff plans, which agencies would be affected and whether any federal employees have been ordered back to work to carry out reductions in force (RIFs).
Illston’s request is a standard reply to unions’ request for a temporary restraining order to block the president’s plans.
But the response from the White House Office of Management and Budget could offer some indications on the administration’s next steps as federal employees reel from threats of mass layoffs and withheld pay while lawmakers broker a deal to reopen the government.
