A federal judge in California has blocked US Secretary of State Marco Rubio from proceeding with planned layoffs at the State Department, ruling the move violates an existing court order on federal job cuts.
US District Judge Susan Illston ruled that her earlier injunction from May — which blocked layoffs across federal agencies under President Donald Trump’s directive — also applies to the State Department’s restructuring efforts.
Last month, the State Department notified Congress of plans to lay off approximately 2,000 employees and restructure more than 300 offices and bureaus starting in June. Rubio had argued that the restructuring was independent of the president’s broader executive order and therefore exempt from the injunction.
Judge Illston rejected that claim in a virtual hearing, stating the department remains bound by the court’s previous decision.
“If the State Department has any question about whether planned actions fall within the scope of the Court’s injunction, the Court ORDERS the Department to first raise those questions with the Court before taking action,” she wrote.
The ruling marks a legal setback for the Trump administration’s efforts to streamline the federal workforce and reorganize executive branch agencies, a key plank of the president’s second-term reform agenda.
Legal experts say the ruling could have broader implications for other departments planning similar cuts under the White House directive.
At least 25 members of Mexico's National Guard have died during a wave of violence in the state of Jalisco after the killing of a drug lord, the count...
The European Parliament on Monday (23 February) postponed a vote on the EU’s trade deal with the U.S. after President Donald Trump imposed a blanket...
Central Asia’s population could reach 96 million by 2040, according to the head of the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB), highlighting both the region...
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Monday discussed transport links, infrastructure projects and broader economic cooperation with a high-level Ira...
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has written to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to say he would back any UK government plan to remove An...
Central Asia’s population could reach 96 million by 2040, according to the head of the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB), highlighting both the region’s economic potential and the growing strain on infrastructure, trade routes and long-term development models.
A British national was among at least 19 people killed when a passenger bus plunged off a mountain highway into the Trishuli river in Nepal before dawn on Monday (23 February), authorities said. A New Zealander and a Chinese national were among those injured.
Against a backdrop of mounting environmental pressure across Central Asia, the Kazakh Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources has announced that the Regional Ecological Summit (RES) 2026 will take place from 22–24 April in Astana.
Iran has signed a secret €500 million arms deal with Russia to rebuild air defences, weakened during last year’s war with Israel, the Financial Times has reported. The agreement, signed in December in Moscow, will see Russia deliver 500 Verba launch units and 2,500 9M336 missiles over three years.
A seven-month-old Japanese macaque has drawn international attention after forming an unusual bond with a stuffed orangutan toy after being rejected by its mother.
Divers have recovered the bodies of seven Chinese tourists and a Russian driver after their minibus broke through the ice of on Lake Baikal in Russia, authorities said.
Pakistan said it carried out cross-border strikes on militant targets inside Afghanistan after blaming a series of recent suicide bombings, including attacks during the holy month of Ramadan, on fighters it said were operating from Afghan territory.
President Donald Trump said on Saturday (21 February) that he will raise temporary tariffs on nearly all U.S. imports from 10% to 15%, the maximum allowed under the law, after the Supreme Court struck down his previous tariff program.
Iran announced on Saturday (21 February) that it has designated the naval and air forces of European Union member states as “terrorist entities” in a reciprocal move after the EU blacklisted the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
At least 25 members of Mexico's National Guard have died during a wave of violence in the state of Jalisco after the killing of a drug lord, the country's security minister has said.
The European Parliament on Monday (23 February) postponed a vote on the EU’s trade deal with the U.S. after President Donald Trump imposed a blanket 15% import duty.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has written to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to say he would back any UK government plan to remove Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from the line of succession, a statement shared by Starmer's office said.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency will halt the collection of tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act on Tuesday (24 February), more than three days after the U.S. Supreme Court declared the duties unlawful.
The U.S. ambassador to Portugal has urged Lisbon to replace its ageing F-16 fighter jets with Lockheed Martin’s F-35, saying the stealth aircraft would ensure compatibility with Europe’s top-tier air forces.
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