Government shutdown live updates; Senate rejects spending deal; judge blocks mass layoffs

WASHINGTON – A federal judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked the Trump administration's mass layoffs as the government shutdown drags on, pausing the job cuts for thousands of American workers.

U.S. District Judge Susan Illston granted a request by two unions to stop layoffs at more than 30 agencies. She said President Donald Trump and his top aides have made several comments showing explicit political motivations for the layoffs, such as Trump saying that cuts would target "Democrat agencies."

"You can't do that in a nation of laws. And we have laws here, and the things that are being articulated here are not within the law," said Illston, an appointee of Democratic former President Bill Clinton.

Meanwhile, the Senate on Wednesday rejected a GOP-backed spending bill for the ninth time. The legislation would have extended government funding until Nov. 21.

But Democrats continue to demand additional health care funding to overturn Medicaid cuts and extend tax credits for the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

The longest previous shutdown lasted 35 days between December 2018 and January 2019, during Trump’s first term. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, warned that “we're barreling toward one of the longest shutdowns in American history unless Democrats drop their partisan demands.”