Tens of thousands of US public officials received authorization on Wednesday to accept compensation from Donald Trump after a federal judge ruled that the unprecedented reduction effort could continue.
A spokesman for the United States personnel management office said that some 75,000 workers have signed up for the offer, which is equivalent to 3% of the civil workforce. The Trump administration has promised to pay wages until September 30 without forcing them to work, although the unions have warned that the offer is not reliable.
The unions that represent federal workers had filed a lawsuit to stop the program and delayed it for six days while the US district judge O’Toole in Boston analyzed the matter. But the judge ruled on Wednesday that the unions had no legal legitimacy to file the lawsuit and said the issue should be addressed in other forums before reaching the courts.
The administration said the program is now closed for new applicants. “There is no doubt: the Deferred Resignation Program was legal and a valuable option for federal employees,” said the Personnel Administration Office in a statement.
The unions involved in the dispute did not say immediately if they would appeal the judge’s decision or seek other options. “Today’s decision is a setback in the struggle for the dignity and justice of public officials, but it is not the end of that struggle,” said Everett Kelly, president of the US Government Employee Federation, which represents 800,000 Federal workers.
The purchase is one of the many strategies that Trump is adopting to reduce a civil workforce of 2.3 million people, which he has criticized for ineffective and partialized against him. He has also ordered government agencies to prepare for high -range job cuts, and several have already begun to fire recently hired employees who lack full job security.
Officials have been told to prepare personnel cuts of up to 70% in some agencies, the sources say. Trump’s offer to pay wages and benefits until September 30 may not be infallible. Current spending laws expire on March 14 and there is no guarantee that wages are financed beyond that date.
The lawyers of the United States Department of Justice had described the initiative as a “human exit” for those frustrated by Trump’s broader plans to reduce the size of the workforce and put an end to the ability of many to work from home.
EU Judge opens the way for thousands of federal workers to be paid to Trump’s compensation
The unions that represent federal employees argued in their demand that the program was “surprisingly arbitrary” and violates a law that prevents agencies from spending more money from the Congress.
They warned that the purchase, which does not apply to border guards, air traffic controlle and some other workers, could reduce workforce arbitrarily and disturb vital government services. Unions and general democratic prosecutors have submitted other demands challenging the Fast government restructuring by Trump and obtained some initial victories. In a separate lawsuit filed on Wednesday, five unions filed a lawsuit to block what they called a possible mass dismissal of hundreds of thousands of workers who resist pressure to accept compensation.
Trump has designated billionaire Elon Musk to direct the newly created government efficiency department, which is reviewing payment and personnel records in an effort to cut a billion dollars of the federal budget, which totaled 6.75 billion dollars last year.
Civil workers’ salaries represent less than 5% of that total. If the purchase reduces the template by less than 3%, they could mean an annual savings of less than 10,000 million dollars. According to federal figures, approximately 6% of the workforce renounces or retire every year.
Trump has ordered federal agencies to work with the Musk team to identify employees that can be fired and the functions that can be completely eliminated. On Wednesday night, CNN reported that employees were dismissed during the test period in the Department of Education and the Administration of small businesses, citing federal employees and union sources. Neither the Department of Education nor the SBA immediately responded to a request for Reuters comments.
Until now, the Musk team has focused on 15 agencies and has dismantled two: one that provides a lifeguard to those in need of the world and another that protects Americans from unscrupulous lenders. Some republican experts in budgets say that the initiative reflects a conservative ideology rather than a good faith effort to save taxpayers money.
Trump himself has ruled out cuts to the popular benefits of retirement and health for the elderly, who represent 36% of the federal expenditure and it is projected that they will consume a majority of the budget as the population ages. Meanwhile, Trump’s Republican allies in Congress are preparing a budget plan that would cut taxes and increase security spending, which according to independent experts would add billions of dollars to the national debt.
With Reuters information.
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