Federal judge grants temporary restraining order, blocking mass firings of federal workers
Judge Susan Illston has issued a temporary restraining order, blocking the firing of federal workers during the ongoing government shutdown.
Key events
Brown University rejects Trump administration invitation to join ‘compact’, citing concerns for academic freedom
Brown University is the latest institution to reject the White House’s offer to join a “Compact of Academic Excellence” – the controversial agreement which would provide preferential treatment to colleges that carry out several of the administration’s education policies, including ending diversity initiatives and capping international student enrollment.
In a letter to the education secretary, Linda McMahon, Brown’s president. Christina H Paxson, said she’s concerned the compact would “restrict academic freedom and undermine the autonomy of Brown’s governance”.
She added:
A fundamental part of academic excellence is awarding research funding on the merits of the research being proposed. The cover letter describing the compact contemplates funding research on criteria other than the soundness and likely impact of research, which would ultimately damage the health and prosperity of Americans.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) became the first university to reject the invitation to join the compact, before the White House extended the option to all higher education institutes across the country.
Senate fails to pass funding bill to reopen government for ninth time
The Senate has rejected a House-passed funding bill to reopen the federal government, as the shutdown enters its 15th day.
With a vote of 51-44, this is the ninth time that the funding extension has failed to meet the 60-member threshold needed to advance in the upper chamber.
Hegseth plane makes unscheduled landing in UK returning from Nato meeting
According to Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell, the plane carrying the US defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, back from a meeting of Nato ministers in the UK had to make an unscheduled landing “due to a crack in the aircraft windshield”.
Parnell added: “The plane landed based on standard procedures and everyone onboard, including Secretary Hegseth, is safe.”
Here’s a recap of the day so far
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A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from carrying out layoffs during the ongoing government shutdown. In a lawsuit brought by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) challenging the reductions in force that the Trump administration enacted last week, Judge Susan Illston said that the mass firings across agencies, which amounted to more than 4,000 layoffs, are an example of the administration taking “advantage of the lapse in government spending, in government functioning, to assume that that all bets are off, that the laws don’t apply to them any more”. Illston blocked the administration from laying off any federal employees because of, or during, the shutdown, and has stopped them from taking action on the already issued reductions in force for at least two weeks.
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While that hearing was under way, the White House budget director maintained that the firings are far from over. Russell Vought, the director of the office of management and budget – has said that the current reductions in force are just a “snapshot”. He added that the total amount could end up being about 10,000.
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The supreme court heard two and a half hours of oral arguments today in a case that could thwart a key provision of the Voting Rights Act (VRA). The conservative majority on the bench seemed sympathetic to the case, made by lawyers for Louisiana, a group of “non-African American voters” and the Trump administration. They all argue that a 2024 congressional map, which created a second majority-Black district in Louisiana, violates the constitution. If the court rules in their favor, it could ultimately diminish section 2 of the VRA, which prohibits electoral practices that dilute the voting power of minority groups. It would also limit the ability of legislatures from drawing maps with racial demographics in mind, and could cost Democrats several House seats in Republican-led states.
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Also in Washington, the government shutdown enters day 15, with no end in sight. Republicans and Democrats in Congress held press conferences at the US Capitol, and continued to exchange barbs – blaming the other party for the lapse in funding. The House speaker, Mike Johnson, said that he spoke with Donald Trump on Tuesday, adding that Republicans are “forlorn” and not taking “any pleasure” in the length of the shutdown and the mass layoffs implemented by the White House budget office. Meanwhile, Hakeem Jeffries slammed the administration for offering a $20bn cash bailout to Argentina, but not “spending a dime on affordable healthcare for Americans”. CSPAN also reported that Johnson and Jeffries have both accepted an invitation to debate on the network. The date has yet to be announced.
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Today, Johnson also accused a group of Democrats of “storming” his office, showing “disdain for law enforcement” and playing “political games”. On Tuesday evening, a group of Democrats including Adelita Grijalva, the Democratic representative-elect for Arizona, marched to Johnson’s office, chanting “swear her in” and demanding that she be seated after she won a special election in her state over three weeks ago. Arizona’s attorney general, Kris Mayes, has threatened legal action against Johnson for failing to seat Grijalva, and Grijalva said she has also been exploring her legal options for officially claiming her seat.
In her order, Judge Illston has temporarily blocked the administration from laying off any federal employees because of or during the shutdown, and has stopped them from taking action on the already issued reductions in force for at least two weeks.
She’ll lay out further details in her written ruling later today, but said that the administration will need to provide a plan outlining how they have complied with her order within two business days. Illston said that she will schedule a preliminary injunction hearing in roughly two weeks’ time.
“It would be wonderful to know what the government’s position is on the merits of this case,” Illston added. “My breath is bated until we find that.”
Federal judge grants temporary restraining order, blocking mass firings of federal workers
Judge Susan Illston has issued a temporary restraining order, blocking the firing of federal workers during the ongoing government shutdown.
White House budget director says federal worker layoffs could total 10,000
While the hearing in the case trying to block the mass layoffs plays out in northern California, Russell Vought – the director of the White House’s office of management and budget – has said that these are just a “snapshot” of the firings. He added that the total amount could end up being about 10,000.
Vought said his office wants to “be very aggressive where we can be in shuttering the bureaucracy, not just the funding”, during an appearance on The Charlie Kirk Show.
Federal judge says she’s ‘inclined’ to block administration from mass layoffs during government shutdown
A federal judge in San Francisco is currently hearing arguments in a lawsuit brought by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) challenging the reductions in force that the Trump administration enacted last week as the government shutdown continued.
As she began proceedings today, Judge Susan Illston said that she’s “inclined” to block the mass firings across agencies, which amounted to more than 4,000 layoffs, according to court filings.
She added that the administration has “taken advantage of the lapse in government spending, in government functioning, to assume that that all bets are off, that the laws don’t apply to them any more”.
Lauren Gambino
A group of 15 Democratic governors on Wednesday announced the formation of a multistate health initiative designed to improve public health coordination and emergency preparedness in response to the turmoil caused by Robert F Kennedy Jr’s changes across federal agencies.
Leaders of the Governors Public Health Alliance say the newly formed “hub” will serve as a national platform for public officials and public health experts to monitor disease outbreaks, coordinate pandemic preparedness, share data, and pool resources such as vaccines and medical supplies. The states involved represent roughly one in three Americans.
“California is proud to help launch this new alliance because the American people deserve a public health system that puts science before politics,” California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, said in a statement. “As extremists try to weaponize the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] and spread misinformation, we’re stepping up to coordinate across states, protect communities, and ensure decisions are driven by data, facts, and the health of the American people.”
The alliance builds on previous regional collaborations, including the West Coast Health Alliance formed early in the pandemic by California, Oregon and Washington. Officials say the new national structure will serve as a forum for sharing best practices and navigating shared challenges.
Newsom joined governors from Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Guam, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island and Washington in launching the alliance.
The initiative is supported by GovAct, which describes itself as a “centralized platform for collaboration across governors’ offices – incubating, launching and supporting alliances of governors”. Other alliances it supports are Governors Upholding & Fortifying Democracy, chaired by Democratic governors Jared Polis of Colorado and JB Pritzker of Illinois, and Governors Working Together to Defend & Expand Reproductive Freedom, which includes 23 Democratic governors.
A White House official tells the Guardian that Donald Trump’s press conference at 3pm ET, during which he’ll be joined by the FBI director, Kash Patel, is an “update on crime-reduction progress”.
We’ll bring you the latest lines when it gets started.
Trump to host fundraiser with high-dollar donors for new White House ballroom – report
Donald Trump will host a so-called “legacy dinner” tonight to establish the new $200m ballroom at the White House, according to CNN.
The invitation said the dinner, which will be held at the White House, is meant “to establish the magnificent White House Ballroom”, plans for which the administration announced in July.
A White House official described the event to CNN as a fundraiser for the ballroom and other beautification projects and noted that a number of high-dollar donors would be in attendance, though they didn’t give specific names.
Outcry after US strips visas from six foreigners over Charlie Kirk remarks
Joseph Gedeon in Washington and Tom Phillips in Rio de Janeiro
Civil liberties advocates are warning that the Trump administration’s decision to strip visas from at least six foreign nationals over social media posts about Charlie Kirk’s killing represents yet another example of dangerous government crackdowns on protected speech.
On Tuesday, the state department announced it was systematically identifying visa holders who “celebrated the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk”, declaring in a social media statement that “the United States has no obligation to host foreigners who wish death on Americans”.
The visa cancellations represent an escalating government-wide campaign to suppress criticism of Kirk, who was killed last month. The administration cut visas for nationals from Argentina, South Africa, Mexico, Brazil, Germany and Paraguay.
“You can’t defend ‘our culture’ by eroding the very cornerstone of what America stands for: freedom of speech and thought,” Conor Fitzpatrick, an attorney at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (Fire), said in a statement to the Guardian. “The Trump administration must stop punishing people for their opinions alone.”
Visa revocations under these parameters “are censorship, plain and simple”, Carrie DeCell, the Knight First Amendment Institute’s senior staff attorney and legislative adviser, said in a press release.
Mere ‘mockery’ can’t be grounds for adverse government action – whether revocation of broadcast licenses or revocation of visas. While the government can revoke visas for many reasons, the first amendment forbids it from doing so based on viewpoint.
The full report is here:
‘This delay is intentional’: Adelita Grijalva demands again that House speaker Mike Johnson seat her
Away from the supreme court for a moment, Democratic representative-elect for Arizona Adelita Grijalva has demanded again that House speaker Mike Johnson seat her.
Johnson has refused to swear her in while the House is out of session amid the ongoing federal government shutdown, even though there is no rule that prevents him from doing so (he previously swore in two Florida Republicans while the House was in recess earlier this year).
Grijalva, who won a special election in her state over three weeks ago and whose election was certified by Arizona’s secretary of state yesterday, is poised to provide the final signature on a bipartisan discharge petition needed to force a floor vote on whether to demand that the Trump administration release the Epstein files to Congress.
“This delay is not procedural, it is intentional,” she said outside the US Capitol this morning. “He is doing everything in his power to shield this administration from accountability. That is not leadership, that is obstruction.”
Yesterday evening, a group of Democrats and Grijalva marched to Johnson’s office, chanting “swear her in” and demanding that she be seated. This morning Johnson accused them of “storming” his office, showing “disdain for law enforcement” and playing “political games”.
Grijalva said yesterday: “I have not had one word from Speaker Johnson, not one word. We sent a letter. Now our attorney general is getting involved, because this is taxation without representation.”
Arizona’s attorney general, Kris Mayes, has threatened legal action against Johnson for failing to seat Grijalva, and Grijalva said she has also been exploring her legal options for officially claiming her seat.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson pressed Edward Greim, who is representing the “non-African American” challengers who appealed the 2024 congressional map and is challenging the interpretation of aspects of the Voting Rights Act, on whether he was suggesting that it was only a state’s “intentional discrimination” that needed to be remedied.
Greim replied that if a race-based remedy is involved, it must be in response to “intentional discrimination”.
But Justice Sonia Sotomayor said the 15th amendment is not limited to “intentional” discrimination, to which Greim said the court has never held that the amendment addresses anything other than discrimination that is intentional.
Sotomayor pushed back that this was not true and that the court has evaluated whether the effect of something is discrimination, regardless of whether that was the intent.
David Smith
in Washington
A predominantly Black crowd has gathered outside the supreme court, as it continues to hear a case that threatens to gut the Voting Rights Act.
There are about 200 people, some holding signs and wearing T-shirts that say “Black voters matter”, “It’s about us”, “We will be heard”, “Protect our vote” and “Protect people, not power”.
One man is waving a giant black and white flag that proclaims: “Fuck Trump.” Another is holding a handmade sign that references former justice Thurgood Marshall and current justice Clarence Thomas, both African Americans: “Thurgood is watching you Clarence.”
Various speakers are coming to a lectern, their voices booming through loudspeakers. Cliff Albright of Black Voters Matter told the crowd: “We are blessed with power … We’ve got the power to move mountains … We’ve got the power to make good trouble … This court ain’t nothing but another mountain for us to move … When we believe, we win.”
Some distance away, half a dozen police officers are standing guard outside the court, which is covered in scaffolding.
Hashim Mooppan, the principal deputy US solicitor general who is representing the Trump administration, is now speaking before the court.
