A federal judge declined to block, for now, downsizing efforts by President Donald Trump’s administration, including mass firings and buyout programs.
“Federal district judges are duty-bound to decide legal issues based on even-handed application of law and precedent—no matter the identity of the litigants or, regrettably at times, the consequences of their rulings for average people,” Judge Christopher Cooper wrote in his ruling.
Unions representing hundreds of thousands of federal workers had filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump and the heads of several government agencies, saying they were overstepping the executive branch’s authority.
The unions allege that the government is engaging in “mass firings” of newer employees still under “probationary” status.
“The allegation is not without evidence,” Cooper said.
The court denied the unions’ request to block the terminations, saying “it likely lacks” jurisdiction over their claims.
The plaintiffs asked the court to declare the federal buyout program unlawful, and to stop the administration from implementing another similar program.
The buyout, or deferred resignation offer, which ended on Feb. 12, was extended to more than 2 million government employees by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), in a bid to hasten Trump’s plan to shrink the federal workforce. About 75,000 workers accepted the offer before the deadline.
