In a win for the Trump administration, a federal judge on Wednesday decided a government buyout program offered to millions of federal employees could proceed.
U.S. District Judge George O’Toole Jr., who had previously issued a temporary restraining order blocking the deferred resignation program from continuing while he heard arguments in a lawsuit brought by federal employee unions, said Wednesday that the unions lacked standing, because they were not directly impacted by buyouts.
The Trump administration made the buyout offer last month in an effort to reduce the size of the federal workforce. More than 2 million federal employees were told that if they resigned, they would get paid with benefits through the end of September — without having to work.
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The offer has been met with criticism, including the lawsuit from unions representing federal employees and politicians who say there’s no real guarantee people would get paid because Congress hasn’t allocated the funds.
More than 65,000 employees — nearly 3%