A federal district court order has stopped implementation of relocation and reorganization of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, halting the imminent closure of offices and facilities and the forced relocations of more than 2,600 USDA employees. The Trump administration is accused of implementing the USDA plan without congressional approval.

Plaintiffs, including unions that represent affected federal workers, won a preliminary ruling that prevents the USDA from taking action while litigation is pending. The plaintiffs’ primary argument is that the reorganization activities are prohibited by the congressional appropriations statutes that fund USDA and that the reorganization activities are “unlawful” within the bounds of the Administrative Procedure Act.

The ruling was made in the U.S. Northern District Court of Northern California, which looked into what is termed “reprogramming” of congressional funding, or using funds appropriated by Congress for actions not specified in the funding package.

“Is USDA currently “reprogramming” money to fund its efforts to shut down offices and relocate employees? The answer to that question is almost certainly yes,” said U.S. District Court Judge Vince Chhabria in his Oct. 13 ruling, which he continued by stating, “Congress did not contemplate USDA using its appropriated funds to shut down offices or relocate employees. To the contrary, Congress was actively working to restrict the agency’s ability to do so.”

The ruling is quite clear, stating “on the facts of this case, the most appropriate remedy is to stay USDA’s reorganization expenditures, full stop.”

The ruling temporarily forbids the USDA from closing or eliminating offices, or relocating or reassigning employees outside of their local commuting areas, and outside the national capital region. Relocations to another duty station for employees currently within the commuting area of the national capital region will be permitted.

The move would also affect management of federal public lands, according to Erik Molvar, executive director of Western Watersheds Project.

“Federal land management agencies are under siege, and the Trump administration is doing its utmost to get rid of experienced regulators and scientists in its push to maximize the commercial exploitation of our nation’s public-land legacy,” Molvar said after the ruling. “We’re delighted that the courts have once again stepped in to stop the bloodletting, to make sure that Forest Service offices aren’t gutted of employees, and to halt the closure of research facilities.”

The USDA manages public lands through the National Forest Service.

The underlying complaint names both the agency and Secretary Brooke Rollins as defendants. The collaboration of plaintiffs, in reaction to the ruling, said in a public statement last week the stay is a welcome reprieve to “the Trump-Vance administration’s reckless, unlawful, and disruptive reorganization of USDA.”

“The department provides vital services across America, supporting rural communities, protecting our food supply, feeding families, advancing agricultural research, guarding our forests and public lands, and so much more. We look forward to achieving more permanent relief and continuing to fight for American families, farmers, and workers,” the plaintiff’s statement read.

The USDA’s goal is to close or significantly decrease capacity at offices and facilities across the department. It would move the Forest Service headquarters from Washington, D.C., to Salt Lake City, close all nine Forest Service regional offices, and shut 23 research locations across 15 states. It would also eliminate the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, in Maryland, which is considered the nation’s top agricultural research facility.

The American Federation of Government Employees, in response to the injunction, claim the Trump administration’s plan would also close five of seven regional offices of the Food and Nutrition Administration, undermining the effective administration of critical nutrition programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).

Judge Chhabria ordered that within seven business days of the injunction, the Trump administration “shall file a declaration verifying that they have complied with this order and setting forth the steps they have taken to do so.”

A spokesman for the Trump administration said the department is reviewing the decision and will file its response with the court, and USDA officials, including senior leadership overseeing the restructuring, have maintained that decisions regarding the agency’s internal structure fall under the authority of the agriculture secretary and the president, and they have stated they will appeal the injunction.