As the U.S. government shutdown entered its third week, a federal court issued a temporary injunction preventing the Trump administration from dismissing thousands of federal employees.

The judge ruled that the president may have overstepped his authority in attempting to use the shutdown to justify the firings.

The ruling followed comments by Russ Vought, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), who had indicated that additional job cuts were forthcoming, suggesting the number could exceed 10,000 workers.

The lawsuit claimed that the OMB, under Vought’s direction, violated the law by making threats of termination and instructing federal employees to engage in activities related to the planned firings during the shutdown.