Bonta said the Trump administration’s mass layoffs violated federal law and would cause economic hardship for California.

The federal judge who ruled that the Trump administration’s mass firings of federal workers were illegal says the official who ordered the firings must testify at a hearing this week or face sanctions.

The government said in a court filing that Charles Ezell, who issued the memos that agencies interpreted as orders to fire thousands of employees, would not appear in court Thursday.