Judge suspends Trump’s government workers acquisition plan
Orders were placed a few hours before 23:59 EST (04:59 GMT on Friday).
Justice Department lawyers said federal employees will be notified of the deadline being suspended, CBS reported.
The White House appeared to be seeing a temporary suspension as a way to increase the number of resignations.
“We are grateful to the judge for extending the deadline, so if more federal workers refuse to show up in the office, we can make this extremely generous once-in-a-lifetime offer,” the statement.
A Human Resources Administration (OPM) statement said the agency will continue to process its resignation until 23:59 local time on Monday.
“The program has not been blocked or canceled,” he said. “The government respects the postponed offer of resignation.”
The Trump administration previously said it wanted as many as 200,000 employees to accept the offer, but told the media They were hoping for a surge in participation Right before the deadline.
“It’s going to save Americans millions of dollars,” Leavitt told reporters outside the White House West Wing before the judge suspends the program.
The Union of Government Employees, the Federation of Government Employees, filed a lawsuit against the OPM, claiming it had violated the law, was unable to fund the transaction, and provided conflicting guidance on its terms.
The union said in an email to its members that the offer was part of an “employment to dismantle civil servants and replace skilled, professional workforce with unqualified political appointees and for-profit organizations.”
The union said Congress had not passed funding budgets beyond mid-March, claiming it was unclear whether the agency could pay workers until September.
On Thursday, the union said it was “pleasant” with the judge’s actions.
Some federal employees have explained their shock at the acquisition proposal, delivered in the form of late-night emails, including the subject “Fork in the Road.” Some people thought email was spam.
“The tone of the first email was like, ‘It might be cut anyway,'” Monet Hepp, a medical assistance specialist at the U.S. Veterans Affairs Bureau, previously told the BBC. “People were blind to that.”
Democrats questioned the legality of the resignation package, warning that it would lead to a “brain drain” that “all Americans feel.”
“Without the expertise and institutional knowledge that so many federal employees bring to their jobs, our government can effectively respond to national emergency situations, serve the American people, and everyday life. You won’t even be able to do business,” a Democrat on the House Oversight Committee wrote. A letter to President Trump.
On Tuesday, the Central Intelligence Agency became the first National Security Agency to expand its offer to staff. The former US intelligence reporting agency and several lawmakers raised concerns that the offer could undermine US national security.
There are also reports of impending cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), weather agency and the Department of Health and Human Services.