A federal judge has ruled the Trump administration's buyout of federal workers can proceed.
In a Wednesday ruling, Judge George A. O'Toole dissolved an existing temporary restraining order against the buyouts and declined to enact a preliminary injunction that would have paused the process.
The judge ruled that the worker unions that brought the suit did not have standing to sue, and argued that they should have gone through the administrative process of appealing to managers and other officials within their organizations before seeking a legal remedy.
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"Today's ruling is a setback in the fight for dignity and fairness for public servants. But it's not the end of that fight. AFGE's lawyers are evaluating the decision and assessing next steps," said AFGE National President Everett Kelley. "Importantly, this decision did not address the underlying lawfulness of the program. We continue to maintain it is illegal to force American citizens who have dedicated their careers to public service to make a decision, in a few short days, without adequate information, about whether to uproot their families and leave their careers for what amounts to an unfunded IOU from Elon Musk."
The ruling could have implications for whether and how other lawsuits can be brought against the buyout program.
Eligibility for the buyouts themselves, meanwhile, appears to have now ended. According to an email viewed by Scripps News, the deferred resignation program closed at 7:20p.m. ET on Wednesday, Feb. 12, and no further resignations will be accepted.
Scripps News has confirmed that at least 20,000 federal workers have already taken the buyout offer.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
