The decision by US District Judge George O’Toole in Boston prevents Trump’s administration from implementing the buyout plan for now, giving a temporary victory to labour unions that have sued to stop it entirely. More than 2 million federal civilian employees faced a midnight deadline to accept the proposal. It is unclear when O’Toole will rule on the request by the unions.
The buyout effort is part of a far-reaching plan by Trump and his allies to reduce the size and rein in the actions of the federal bureaucracy. Trump, who returned to the presidency on Jan 20, has accused the federal workforce of undercutting his agenda during his first term in office, from 2017-2021.
Unions have urged their members not to accept the buyout offer – saying Trump’s administration cannot be trusted to honour it – but about 65,000 federal employees had signed up for the buyouts as of Friday, according to a White House official. Reuters has been unable to independently verify that number, which does not include a breakdown of workers from each agency.
