A federal judge in San Francisco temporarily blocked the White House from firing hundreds of thousands of government employees in a ruling late Friday night. Why it matters: It's the latest and broadest setback for President's Trump and DOGE's chainsaw efforts to radically slash and burn the federal government.

Judge Susan Illston in San Francisco issued the emergency order in a lawsuit filed by labor unions and cities last week, one of multiple legal challenges to Republican President Donald Trump’s efforts to shrink the size of a federal government he calls bloated and expensive.

A federal judge on Tuesday blocked President Donald Trump's administration from firing workers and taking other steps to shut down federal agencies that fund museums and libraries, mediate labor disputes and support minority-owned businesses.