Judge orders White House to temporarily halt sweeping government layoffs

San Francisco district judge says Congress did not authorize large-scale staffing cuts and restructuring of agencies

Donald Trump's administration must temporarily halt its sweeping government overhaul because Congress did not authorize it to carry out large-scale staffing cuts and the restructuring of agencies, a federal judge in California said on Friday.

US district judge Susan Illston in San Francisco sided with a group of unions, non-profits and local governments in blocking large-scale mass layoffs known as reductions in force" for 14 days.