By Brendan Scanland
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Two million federal workers woke up Thursday morning with a consequential decision to make: whether to accept the Trump administration’s buyout offer by 11:59 pm, or not. That was until a federal judge weighed in, in response to a lawsuit filed by federal workers unions.
A temporary restraining order issued by a federal judge in Boston Thursday, comes after consistent pressure from the administration encouraging workers to accept the buyout.
Thursday’s pause means the deadline will be extended until a court hearing on Monday, which could block the plan and push the deadline further.
“We are pleased the court temporarily paused this deadline while arguments are heard about the legality of the deferred resignation program. We continue to believe this program violates the law, and we will continue to aggressively defend our members’ rights,” said Everett Kelley, National President of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE).
“Despite claims made to the contrary, this deferred resignation scheme is unfunded, unlawful, and comes with no guarantees. We won’t stand by and let our members become the victims of this con,” said Kelley in a prior statement before Thursday’s decision.
Legal challenges arose in the immediate aftermath of the Trump administration announcing federal civilian employees would have the chance to resign and receive pay through September. It’s part of a major effort by President Trump and top government efficiency adviser, Elon Musk, to downsize and curb spending.
The administration’s goal is to have between 5 – 10% of the federal workforce quit. The White House estimates it would save $100 billion.
As of Wednesday, more than 40,000 employees, or about 2% of the federal workforce, are reported to have accepted the buyout. Some reports on Thursday indicate the number is much higher.
“He campaigned across this country with Elon Musk vowing that Elon was going to head up the Department of Government Efficiency and the two of them, with a great team around them, were going to look at the receipts of this federal government and ensure its accountable to American taxpayers,” said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Wednesday.
The unprecedented effort to downsize has prompted not only lawsuits but also protests this week in Washington. Democrats are speaking out against Musk and the administration’s rapid efforts to shrink the federal workforce.
“I don’t think anyone, certainly home in Michigan, has a problem with us looking at trimming the government,” said Senator Elissa Slotkin (D- MI). “But it’s the way they’re going about it that just has no strategic benefit to the United States.”
All full-time federal workers are eligible for the buyout, except for members of the military, air traffic controllers, U.S. Postal Service employees and positions related to immigration and national security. However, on Tuesday, the CIA became the first major national security agency to extend the buyouts to its entire workforce.
“It’s just like taking a machete to the federal government without a concern for how it impacts our national security,” said Sen. Slotkin.
Resignations are expected to continue being processed through Monday. Monday’s court hearing will be consequential for the future of the buyout plan and federal employees.
