5/22/2025: Judge issues preliminary injunction in AFGE, AFL-CIO, et al. v. Trump!
- AFGE 2883 Executive Committee
- May 23
- 2 min read
Updated: May 23
U.S. District Judge Illston granted a preliminary injunction in the AFGE, AFL-CIO v. Trump case challenging the recent reductions in force (RIF) and reorganization plans across the federal agencies named in the lawsuit, which includes HHS.
Immediate Relief: The injunction halts all further RIFS and reorganization activities for the duration of the lawsuit. This means any terminations or admin leave actions that were scheduled as part of the RIFs are now suspended.
Declarations: The defendants have until 3 PM on 5/30/2025 to submit their declarations indicating their compliance with the injunction.
Judicial Recognition of Harm: The court acknowledged that the RIFs/reorg are already causing concrete harm to employees—both those terminated and those left behind with untenable workloads. It also recognized harms to federal contractors and local governments reliant on federal support.
Illegality of Executive Overreach: The court also found that the RIFs were part of a broader executive branch reorganization initiated without Congressional authorization—something the judge described as a blatant disregard of the separation of powers. This signals that the judge believes the RIFs may ultimately be found unlawful, increasing the chance of permanent relief for affected employees.
Terminated Probationary Employees: We don’t yet know what this means for already separated probationary employees. We will provide an update as soon as we do.
What now? We wait for the case to make its way through the court(s). Expect the defendants (government) to appeal the preliminary injunction—all these actions will take time. Typically, the appeal route looks something like this:
9th Circuit Court of Appeals panel where a three-judge panel will make a ruling on the preliminary injunction.
If the preliminary injunction is overturned, the plaintiffs can ask for the entire circuit to review the appeal.
Then it will go to circuit Justice Elena Kagan. Justice Kagan can make a ruling on the preliminary injunction herself, or she can send it to the full Supreme Court for a ruling. She typically sends important matters to the entire court.
Remember, this is just the appeal route for the preliminary injunction. If it is overturned at any point, it is not the end of AFGE v. Trump. The case will still be decided on the merits, but it will take time.