A federal judge in California on Friday kinda blocked plans for reductions-in-force and reorganization at 21 departments and agencies across the federal government. It’s a big setback for the Trump administration as they try to downsize, ya know? The judge, Susan Illston, was like, “The President can make changes to agencies, but he’s gotta do it in a lawful way and work with Congress when it’s a big deal.” She issued an order after hearing arguments, saying that the President needs to ask for Congress’s help to make the changes he wants. So, she put a temporary hold on the “Department of Government Efficiency” Workforce Optimization Initiative for 21 departments and agencies. She also said that agencies like the Office of Personnel Management and the Office of Management and Budget don’t have the power to tell other agencies to fire a bunch of people or restructure themselves. She’s all like, “That’s not cool, man.”
Since Trump became President, a bunch of federal employees have been let go, but the exact number is unclear. The blocked departments and agencies include DOGE, the Office of Management and Budget, the Office of Personnel Management, and the Departments of Housing and Urban Development, Interior, and Transportation. The Trump administration was all like, “This lawsuit is too late, dude. We issued the Executive Order three months ago.” But the judge was like, “Nah, it’s cool. They needed time to figure out how they were gonna get messed up by this.”
Now, the Trump administration’s attempt to change up the government without following the rules has caused a lot of chaos, ya know? A bunch of non-profits, unions, and local governments are all like, “This is not chill, man. We need the government to run smoothly.” They’re happy the court stopped the changes while the case is ongoing. The judge is gonna hear more about it on May 22. The White House hasn’t said anything yet.
Gary Grumbach, the reporter, is in Washington, D.C., covering legal stuff for NBC News. He wrote this article with all its quirks and errors, but that’s what makes it real, right? So, like, not really sure why this matters, but that’s the way it is, I guess. Just gonna roll with it and see what happens next.
