"You've admitted there are no rules," Trump suffers setback from US court; ruling stayed

News Topical, Digital Desk : In a sensational decision in the US, San Francisco federal judge Susan Illston on Wednesday temporarily halted the Trump administration's decision to lay off thousands of federal employees during the government shutdown.

The order comes in response to a lawsuit filed by labor unions claiming the layoffs are illegal. The move comes after the White House announced plans to furlough at least 10,000 workers amid the shutdown.

Judge Illston expressed concern during the hearing that the White House's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Office of Personnel Management (OPM) were taking advantage of the shutdown to ignore the law. He said the government seemed to have assumed that no rules apply during a shutdown.

What has been said by the White House?

"We'll probably be laying off over 10,000 employees. We want to be very aggressive in closing down the bureaucracy," White House OMB chief Russ Vought said in an interview.

President Donald Trump had threatened to launch mass layoffs if Democrats did not support a House-passed proposal to fund the government by the end of November, particularly targeting workers perceived to be aligned with Democrats.

'These layoffs violate rights'

Judge Illston's order is a major blow to the Trump administration, which has been using the shutdown to implement its policies. Labor unions argue that these layoffs are not only illegal but also violate the rights of government employees.

The shutdown has already left millions of government employees without pay or sitting at home. Meanwhile, the political tug-of-war between Trump and the Democrats has further complicated the situation.

Read More: "You've admitted there are no rules," Trump suffers setback from US court; ruling stayed