A federal judge temporarily halted the U.S. State Department's reorganization plan, aimed at laying off nearly 2,000 employees, citing it falls under a barred executive order by President Trump. The ruling,

A federal judge in California on Friday temporarily blocked the State Department from implementing an agency-wide reorganization plan that includes nearly 2,000 layoffs.

In the ruling, Judge Matthew J. Maddox of the Federal District Court in Maryland said that the law only allowed Mr. Trump to fire the officials for “neglect of duty or malfeasance,” while Mr. Trump had purported to fire them without cause.