Federal judge lets Trump’s ‘buyout’ plan for federal employees proceed

A federal judge in Boston Wednesday is allowing the Trump administration to move forward with its federal worker buyout program for the moment.

A federal judge in Boston on Wednesday allowed the Trump administration to move forward for the moment with its deferred resignation offer for federal employees. US District Judge George O’Toole said federal employee unions, which brought a lawsuit on behalf of their members, are not directly impacted by the offer, so they lack standing to bring this case. He had previously issued a temporary restraining order against the program. The ruling is a major win for the Trump administration, which has struggled to successfully defend its policies in court in roughly four dozen lawsuits. The deferred resignation offer is a key piece of the Trump administration’s effort to downsize the federal government. At least 65,000 workers had accepted the package as of last Thursday, when O’Toole initially paused its deadline. The offer will generally allow them to leave their jobs but be paid through the end of September – though the unions and many workers have said that the information the administration has released about the package has been conflicting and confusing. The program closed as of 7 p.m. on Wednesday, said McLaurine Pinover, a spokeswoman for the Office of Personnel Management. She did not provide an update on the number of people who have signed up for the package.