Trump Blow as Judge Blocks Grim Reaper’s Shutdown Jobs Cull

Donald Trump’s efforts to lay off thousands of government employees have suffered a major blow: a judge ruled that the president may have illegally exceeded his authority by exploiting the federal government shutdown.

This scathing rebuke came Wednesday as Russell Vought, the White House’s “Grim Reaper” revealed plans to lay off more than 10,000 federal employees and pledged to be as “aggressive” as possible in shutting down the federal government.

However, federal judge Susan Elston issued a temporary injunction blocking the government, at least for now, arguing that the layoffs are likely illegal.

“The facts suggest that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) took advantage of declining government spending and deteriorating government performance to assume that all options were lost, that the rules no longer applied to them, and that they could impose their preferred structures on a government they disliked,” she said.

“I find, I believe, that the plaintiffs will demonstrate, ultimately, that what’s being done here is both illegal and is in excess of authority and is arbitrary and capricious.”

The injunction, which the administration is expected to appeal, was issued after approximately 4,000 people received layoff notices on Friday, as the Trump administration pursues its long-standing promise to restructure the federal government.

But in a rare interview on Charlie Kirk’s show, Vought cautioned that the 4,000 figure was “just a snapshot,” adding, “I think we’ll probably be well over 10,000.”

“I think that number will be much higher, and we will continue to implement RIFs throughout the shutdown,” the budget director told co-host Andrew Colvitt.

He also promised that the White House would be “very committed to removing bureaucracy—not just funding, but bureaucracy itself.”

“Think about the Department of Energy’s Green New Deal programs. Think about the Commerce Department’s Minority Business Development Agency, which distributes grants to businesses based on race,” he said, referring to some of the agencies he was targeting.

“Think about the Environmental Protection Agency’s environmental justice program.” Consider the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), which was engaged in surveillance of the American people.

The shutdown, the first in seven years, began on October 1st when Congress refused to pass the annual appropriations bills that fund the government for the fiscal year.

Fifteen days later, 750,000 government workers are still furloughed, uncertain of their pay upon returning to work, while non-essential services have been shut down.

Republicans blame the impasse on Democrats, who insist that any funding bill include an extension of the subsidies that allow Americans to buy health insurance under the Affordable Care Act.

“I’m very frustrated by this situation, as are we all,” House Speaker Mike Johnson told Fox News on Wednesday.

However, when asked about the judge’s ruling, Johnson replied: “You lost to a ‘federal judge from San Francisco.'” Obviously, we won’t get a fair trial. There will be an appeal of this decision, I’m sure. The White House is sticking to its guns. It will do what’s expected of it, which is to regularize federal spending.”

However, cracks have appeared within the “Make America Great Again” movement, with some Republicans publicly pushing their leaders to change course and negotiate.

Among the most influential figures is Trump ally Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has blamed Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune for the government shutdown.

“We control the House, we control the Senate, and we own the White House,” she told CNN last week.

Meanwhile, Trump has threatened to lay off federal workers since the government funding dried up earlier this month, and has repeatedly criticized Democrats for not complying with his demands.

One of the president’s social media videos portrayed Vought as a “grim reaper”—an apt title for the architect of Project 2025, who once said he wanted to inflict a “psychological shock” on public workers.

“Cutting government spending is cutting people, and that’s one thing we didn’t do in our first term… We learned that, frankly, during our years in exile,” Vought said Wednesday.

“If there are political opportunities to shrink the federal government, we want to take them,” he added.