A federal judge has ruled that recent mass layoffs at the US Department of Health and Human Services were likely unlawful and ordered the Trump administration to halt plans to downsize and reorganize the nation’s health workforce.

Tuesday’s court ruling applies to workers in four key areas of HHS: the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; the Center for Tobacco Products within the Food and Drug

"The Executive Branch does not have the authority to order, organize, or implement wholesale changes to the structure and function of the agencies created by Congress," Judge Melissa DuBose, a Biden appointee,