News- World: A federal judge has issued a temporary injunction, effectively blocking President Donald Trump’s executive order that sought to enable the administration to lay off tens of thousands of federal employees and eliminate specific government agencies.

On Friday, US District Court Judge Susan Illston blocked the large-scale government overhaul known as “reductions in force” for 14 days.

“The Court holds the President likely must request Congressional cooperation to order the changes he seeks, and thus issues a temporary restraining order to pause large-scale reductions in force in the meantime,” Illston wrote in the order.

“The Court here is not considering the potential loss of income of one individual employee, but the widespread termination of salaries and benefits for individuals, families, and communities,” she added.

The US judge sided with a coalition of labor unions, non-profit groups, and six city and county governments who last week sued Trump, DOGE, and federal agencies including the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), arguing that they had abused their authority by implementing the mass layoffs without congressional go-ahead.

The plaintiffs, led by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), hailed the judge’s temporary freeze in a joint statement.

“The Trump administration’s unlawful attempt to reorganize the federal government has disoriented agencies, and disrupted critical services provided across our nation,” the statement read.

“Each of us represents communities deeply invested in the efficiency of the federal government - laying off federal employees and reorganizing government functions haphazardly does not achieve that,” it added.

Trump’s workforce reduction plan is part of wider efforts by tech tycoon Elon Musk to downsize the federal government.

The US president issued an executive order on February 11, calling for a “critical transformation of the Federal bureaucracy.”

He directed agencies to cull workers who are not designated essential.

Trump prioritized firing thousands of government employees this year and slashing programs -- targeting the US humanitarian aid agency USAID, diversity initiatives across the government, and various other offices.

Many US citizens blame Trump and Musk for undermining public sector jobs, warning of serious economic and social consequences.

Source: Press TV