The decision came Tuesday from U.S. District Judge Melissa DuBose in response to a lawsuit filed by attorneys general from 19 states and the District of Columbia, The Associated Press reported. DuBose said the layoffs caused “irreparable harm” and were likely “arbitrary and capricious.”

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.

A federal judge has found that the Trump administration’s massive cuts to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) were unlawful. U.S. District Judge Melissa DuBose, a Biden appointee, ruled Tuesday that the sweeping HHS cuts following Trump coming into office were “arbitrary and capricious as well as contrary to the law.