WASHINGTON β A federal judge on Thursday blocked President Donald Trumpβs plan to push out federal employees by offering them financial incentives.
The ruling came hours before the midnight deadline for workers to apply for the deferred resignation program, which has been commonly described as a buyout.
U.S. District Judge George OβToole Jr. in Boston did not express an opinion on the legality of the program. He scheduled a hearing for Monday at 2 p.m. EST.
Elon Musk listens as President Donald Trump speaks after taking the oath of office at the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Kevin Lamarque/Pool Photo via AP)
He also directed administrationΒ officials to extend the deadline to apply for the program until after the hearing.
Several labor unions have sued over Trump's plans, which were orchestrated by Elon Musk, a top adviser. The Republican president is trying to downsize and reshape the federal workforce.
Here's the latest:
White House press secretary suggests workers should quit instead of trying βto rip the American people offβ²
βWe encourage federal workers in this city to accept the very generous offer,β Karoline Levitt said.
βThey donβt want to come into the office. If they want to rip the American people off, then theyβre welcome to take this buyout and weβll find highly qualified peopleβ to replace them.
The deferred resignation program was orchestrated by Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur serving as a top Trump adviser, to further the Republican presidentβs goal of remaking the federal government, weakening what his allies describe as the βdeep stateβ that undermined his first term.
Administration officials said they can save taxpayer money by presenting employees with βa valuable, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.β
Even judges got DOGE emails
Emails from Elon Musk allies went to a wide swath of the federal government, including a judge overseeing a lawsuit filed to try and block the messages.
U.S. District Judge Randolph Daniel Moss said judges around the country got emails, apparently by mistake, preceding the βfork in the roadβ message from Muskβs so-called Department of Government Efficiency. Moss ignored it.
Heβs overseeing a court challenge filed by federal employees who allege Musk allies set up a server to send the emails without proper privacy protections, leaving their information vulnerable to hacking.
Moss declined to immediately block any future messages, pointing out to a privacy assessment since been completed by the government.
White House saysΒ more than 40,000 federal workers have agreed to resign
White House press secretary Karoline Levitt says 40,000-plus federal workers have agreed to resign in exchange for continuing to be paid through Sept. 30.
βWe expect that number to increase,β Leavitt said. βWe encourage federal workers in this city to accept the very generous offer.β
She spoke as news broke of another federal judge temporarily blocking the plan. The judge ordered the Trump administration to move a midnight deadline for federal employees to take the offer until after a court hearing on Monday.
The deal is 'exactly what it looks like,' says Trump official
Trump officials have organized question-and-answer sessions as federal workers decide whether to quit in exchange for several months of pay.
βI know thereβs been a lot of questions out there about whether itβs real and whether itβs a trick,β Rachel Oglesby, now chief of staff at the U.S. Department of Education, told employees, according to a recording obtained by The Associated Press.
βAnd itβs exactly what it looks like. Itβs one of the many tools that heβs using to try to achieve the campaign promise to bring reform to the civil service and changes to D.C,β she said.
A similar discussion was recorded at the Department of Agriculture.
βUnfortunately, we donβt have all the answers,β said human resources official Marlon Taubenheim. βThese are very trying times.β
