Judge Says Trump Administration Violated Spending Deal by Proceeding With Layoffs. A federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration likely violated both court orders and a bipartisan spending deal by moving forward with mass government layoffs. On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston said the law that ended the government shutdown clearly barred agencies from firing workers and required the reversal of thousands of terminations through January 30 - According to BBC. Despite that, she found that layoffs continued at several federal agencies. Judge Illston blocked any further reductions in force and ordered officials to reinstate employees who were notified of termination during the shutdown period. She rejected the administration’s claim that earlier court orders were unclear, saying the government did what it was explicitly told not to do. The Justice Department did not comment and is expected to appeal the decision.