Judge temporarily blocks Trump’s effort to eliminate Job Corps, 168 Astoria job cuts on hold

A federal judge has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s effort to pull the plug on Job Corps, issuing an order which at least pauses the closure of an Astoria center

that would have eliminated 168 jobs

.

Job Corps is a

free vocational training program

funded by the U.S. Department of Labor for people ages 16 to 24. The Labor Department said last month it would “pause” the program.

On Wednesday, the program’s Astoria location, which is run by a federal contractor, said it would close and eliminate 168 jobs by June 30.

Also on Wednesday, a federal judge in New York City issued a temporary restraining order that prohibits “shutdown tasks,” including eliminating jobs and removing students.

In an email, a spokesperson for the Astoria center said no job cuts have been made at the location and it’s continuing normal operations.

The lawsuit was filed by several contractors that operate Job Corps sites.

“Glad to see the courts blocking Donald Trump’s illegal scheme to end Job Corps & its job training successes in Astoria, Glide & many other places in Oregon + nationwide,” Oregon U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, said Thursday on the social media site X. “I’ll keep fighting in Congress to defend this proven job training pipeline.”

Job Corps site in Troutdale and Portland also had been

expected to close

, according to KGW.

The seven Democratic members of Oregon’s congressional delegation, including U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, whose district includes the Astoria location, sent a letter to Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer yesterday. They urged the Trump administration to “reverse course” and not close Job Corps locations.

“This is a callous and dangerous decision that has thrown the lives of about 25,000 young Americans into chaos, particularly for residential students who have only days to locate new housing, health care support, and career pathways,” they wrote.

The Astoria location, known as Tongue Point Job Corps, is a residential program.

“Many students moved thousands of miles from their home states for the maritime program; others have no homes to which they can return,” they wrote. “Others might have homes of record, but they do not have a safe and supportive living environment there. Local emergency housing shelters are doing their best to prepare to house dozens of youth, but these shelters will be rapidly overwhelmed.”

Wednesday’s federal court ruling also set a June 17 hearing.

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