Over 65,000 federal employees have accepted buyout offers under a plan by President Donald Trump
A U.S. judge on Thursday temporarily halted the Trump administration’s proposed federal worker buyout program until at least Monday, granting an initial victory to labor unions that filed a lawsuit to stop it.
Despite the stay, more than 60,000 federal employees have already accepted the buyout offer, according to a White House source who spoke to Reuters.
U.S. District Judge George O’Toole in Boston issued the ruling, delaying a midnight deadline set by the Trump administration, which has been pressuring federal employees to leave their jobs as part of an unprecedented push to overhaul the federal government.
O’Toole could choose to extend the block or issue a permanent injunction after reviewing the unions’ legal challenge during a hearing on Monday. The White House announced that federal employees have until 11:59 p.m. ET on Monday to submit their resignation plans.
The buyout initiative is part of a broader effort by President Donald Trump and his allies to downsize the federal bureaucracy, which Trump has blamed for obstructing his agenda during his first term.
As part of that initiative, the Trump administration is conducting a dramatic reduction of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which manages humanitarian aid globally. According to four sources, the administration plans to cut the agency’s staff to fewer than 300 employees from a worldwide total of over 10,000.
The buyout proposal has caused significant unrest in Washington, prompting street protests and drawing sharp criticism from labor unions and opposition Democrats, who accuse Trump of violating multiple laws.
Federal workers were instructed to signal their interest in the buyout by typing RESIGN in the subject line of an email sent from their government accounts.
The offer promises to continue paying employees their full salaries and benefits until October without requiring them to work. However, that promise may be uncertain—current spending laws expire on March 14, and there is no guarantee salaries will be funded beyond that point.
In a message to its staff, the Department of Education warned that employees who accept the buyout could see their paychecks stop at any time, media outlets reported. Labor unions and Democrats have called the offer unreliable.
Some federal employees expressed relief following Thursday’s court decision.
“It’s a glimmer of hope that the courts might help us and block the whole resignation program,” said an employee at the General Services Administration, which oversees federal properties.
Another Lawsuit
Trump has tapped billionaire Elon Musk to lead a sweeping effort to drastically reduce the government workforce. As part of that project, Musk’s team has been seeking access to government personnel files and payment records at multiple agencies, raising serious concerns about privacy and data security.
New York Attorney General Letitia James announced that she, along with seven other Democratic state attorneys general, would file a lawsuit to prevent Musk’s quasi-governmental Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) from accessing sensitive data.