An emergency ruling by a federal judge in California amounted to the broadest effort yet to halt the Trump administration’s overhaul of the federal government.

The courts are poised to tackle broad separation-of-powers arguments against the Trump administration’s historic cuts to the federal workforce, after a federal judge said the president likely violated the US Constitution.

Judge Susan Illston in San Francisco said President Donald Trump and his administration failed to get approval from Congress to initiate the cuts, which is required by the constitution.