Judge blocks Trump layoffs as shutdown deepens and tensions rise

As the government shutdown stretches on, the legal and political stakes continue to climb.

(NBC)- As the government shutdown stretches on, the legal and political stakes continue to climb.

President Donald Trump insists his administration is “getting rid of a lot of things that we never wanted,” but a federal judge in California has temporarily blocked the White House from laying off thousands of federal employees during the shutdown.

The decision comes after White House Budget Director Russell Vought said the administration would “pick up the pace” from the roughly 4,000 workers already laid off, predicting the number would rise “north of 10,000.”

Vought, a longtime advocate for shrinking the size of the federal government, has drawn fierce criticism from Democrats who accuse him of exploiting the shutdown to fulfill his political agenda.

“These employees have been traumatized by this administration since Inauguration Day,” said Sen. Tim Kaine (D–Virginia). “These are illegal firings.”

Two federal unions filed suit to stop the layoffs — a case that resulted in the judge’s ruling that the Trump administration had, quote, “taken advantage of the lapse in government spending and government functioning to assume that all bets are off — and the laws don’t apply to them anymore.”

The standoff now extends from the courtroom to Capitol Hill, where lawmakers remain deeply divided over how to reopen the government.

Meanwhile, the ripple effects are being felt across the country. Food banks in several states are seeing spikes in demand as furloughed workers and their families struggle to make ends meet.

“They’re not getting a paycheck, and this has never happened to them before,” said Angela Gore-Hickey, director of Catholic Social Services in Baldwin County, Alabama. “They were embarrassed and humiliated and terrified.”

With both sides entrenched and no deal in sight, everyday Americans continue to bear the brunt of a shutdown that shows no sign of ending.

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