US judge blocks Rubio from cutting State Department staff

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.

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