Days earlier, the Trump administration was due to file a response to a lawsuit in California challenging its targeting of gender affirming care suppliers, U.S. Justice Department attorneys asked a federal judge to temporarily halt the proceedings.
They argued that with the federal government shutdown, they simply didn't have the lawyers to do the work.
“DOJ attorneys and employees of federal defendants are prohibited from working, even on a voluntary basis, except in very limited circumstances, including ‘emergencies involving the safety of human life or the protection of property,’” they wrote in a statement on Oct. 1, the first day of the shutdown.
The district judge presiding over the case, which California filed in federal court in Massachusetts along with a coalition of other Democratic-led states, agreed and promptly granted the request.
This was just one example of a real federal shutdown from a week ago stopping a major lawsuit between California and the Trump administration in political battles that have serious consequences for people's lives.
That same day, in the same Massachusetts court, Justice Department lawyers were granted a pause in a lawsuit in which California and other states are challenging mass layoffs at the U.S. Department of Education, noting that the department's funding has been suspended and it does not know “when such funding will be restored by Congress.”
That same day, in U.S. District Court in Central California, the Trump administration asked for a stay of a lawsuit it filed against California challenging the state's refusal to provide the administration with voter registration lists.
Justice Department lawyers wrote that they “greatly regret any disruption caused to the Court and other parties to the case” but that they need to stay the proceedings until they are “cleared to resume their normal functions in civil cases.”
Since then, the Central California court has advised the parties on alternative dispute resolution options, and outside groups, including the NAACP, have filed motions to intervene in the case, but no major developments have occurred.
The trial pauses—just a fraction of those that occurred in courts across the country—were an example of the sweeping, real and important consequences of the federal government shutdown that average Americans may not consider when thinking about the impact of the shutdown on their lives.
Federal employees responsible for security and other critical functions such as air traffic controllers — remained at work even without pay, but many others were forced to stay home. The Justice Department did not specify which of its lawyers were removed as a result of the closure, but made clear that some of those who worked on the pending cases are no longer doing so.
Federal lawsuit Dispute resolution often takes years, and short pauses in proceedings are common. But long-term disruptions – such as those that could occur if lockdowns drag on – will backfire, preventing legal responses to some of the country's most important political battles.
California Atty. General Rob Bonta, whose office sued the Trump administration more than 40 times since January has not challenged all Trump administration requests for a pause — especially in cases where the status quo favors the state.
However, in other cases it has fought through the pauses and achieved some success.
For example, in the same Massachusetts federal courthouse on Oct. 1, Justice Department lawyers asked a judge to temporarily stay proceedings in a case in which California and other states are suing to block the administration's targeted defunding of Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers.
Their arguments were the same as in other cases: under the closure, they did not have lawyers to do the necessary legal work.
In response, attorneys in California and other states pushed back, noting that the shutdown did not prevent Department of Health and Human Services officials from moving forward with a measure defunding Planned Parenthood—so state residents remained at imminent risk of losing needed health care.
“The risks of irreparable harm are especially high because it is unclear how long the cessation of appropriations will last, meaning care may not be available for several months, after which many health centers will likely be forced to close due to lack of funds,” the states said.
On October 8, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani denied the government's request for a stay, finding that the states' interest in continuing the case “outweighed” the administration's interest in putting it on hold.
Talwani's argument, in part, was that her order denying the stay would give Justice Department officials legal authority to continue prosecuting the case despite the stay.
Bonta said in a statement that “Trump is responsible for this shutdown” and “the devastation it causes to hardworking everyday Americans,” adding that his office will not allow Trump to use it to cause further harm by delaying relief in court cases.
“We will not allow his administration to use this shutdown as an excuse to continue unchecked with his illegal plans. Until we get relief for Californians, we will not back down—and neither will the courts,” Bonta said. “We cannot wait for Trump to finally allow our government to reopen before these cases are heard.”
Trump and congressional Republicans blamed Democrats for the shutdown.
