WASHINGTON (AP) ā A federal judge on Thursday temporarily blocked President Donald Trumpās plan to push out federal workers by offering them financial incentives, the latest twist in a chaotic and distressing saga playing out for millions of government employees.
The ruling came hours before the midnight deadline for them to apply for the deferred resignation program. U.S. District Judge George OāToole Jr. in Boston directed the administration to extend that deadline until after a court hearing he scheduled for Monday afternoon. O'Toole did not express an opinion on the legality of the program, which is being challenged by several labor unions, and said he would weigh arguments next week.
At the White House, press secretary Karoline Levitt said more than 40,000 federal workers have applied to leave in return for being paid until Sept. 30.
āWe encourage federal workers in this city to accept the very generous offer,ā she said at about the same time as the judge's ruling came out. "They donāt want to come into the office. If they want to rip the American people off, then theyāre welcome to take this buyout and weāll find highly qualified peopleā to replace them.
The deferred resignation program was orchestrated by Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur who is serving as a top adviser to Trump. It is part of the Republican president's goal of , weakening what his allies describe as the ādeep stateā that undermined his first term. Administration officials said they can save taxpayer money by presenting employees with āa valuable, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
Democrats and unions warn that workers could be stiffed
On Wednesday, the administration ramped up its pressure on employees to leave, sending a reminder that layoffs or furloughs could come next.
āThe majority of federal agencies are likely to be downsized through restructurings, realignments, and reductions in force,ā said the message from the Office of Personnel Management, which has been a nexus of .
The email said anyone who remains will be expected to be āloyalā and āwill be subject to enhanced standards of suitability and conduct as we move forward.ā Some employees could be reclassified to limit civil service protections as well.
āEmployees who engage in unlawful behavior or other misconduct will be prioritized for appropriate investigation and discipline, including termination,ā the email said.
Democrats said workers shouldn't accept the deferred resignation program because it wasn't authorized by Congress, raising the risk they won't get paid.
āItās a scam and not a buyout,ā said Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees.
Kelley said he tells workers that āif it was me, I wouldnāt do it.ā
An employee at the Department of Education, who also spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation, said the administration appeared desperate to get people to sign the agreement. However, she said there were too many red flags, such as a clause waiving the right to sue if the government failed to honor its side of the deal.
The deal is āexactly what it looks like,ā says Trump official
Trump put Musk, the world's richest man, in charge of the so-called , which is a sweeping initiative to reduce the size and scope of the federal government. The original email offering the deferred resignation program was titled āFork in the road,ā echoing a similar message that Musk sent Twitter employees two years ago after he bought the social media platform.
Trump administration officials have organized question-and-answer sessions with employees as the deadline approaches.
Rachel Oglesby, the chief of staff at the Department of Education who previously worked at the America First Policy Institute, said Trump is trying to reduce the federal workforce.
āI know thereās been a lot of questions out there about whether itās real and whether itās a trick,ā she said, according to a recording obtained by The Associated Press. āAnd itās exactly what it looks like. Itās one of the many tools that heās using to try to achieve the campaign promise to bring reform to the civil service and changes to D.C.ā
The issue was also discussed during a meeting with Department of Agriculture employees, according to another recording obtained by the AP. Marlon Taubenheim, a human resources official, acknowledged that āthese are very trying timesā and āthereās a lot of stress.ā
āUnfortunately, we donāt have all the answers,ā he said.
Jacqueline Ponti-Lazaruk, another agency leader, said employees āprobably didnāt have the runway of time that you might have liked to make a life-changing decision.ā
For those who remain, she said, "weāll just keep plugging along.ā
Assurances from administration officials have not alleviated concerns across a range of agencies. Some federal workers said they did not trust the validity of the offers, doubting that Trump has the authority to disburse money. Others point to his as a New York real estate mogul.
Musk's plans spark demonstrations in Washington
Scattered protests have sprung up outside federal buildings, including on Tuesday at the Office of Personnel Management.
āIām taking a risk and being bold and trying to get more federal workers to take a risk to speak out," said Dante OāHara, who said he works for the government. "Because if we donāt, then weāre all going to lose our jobs and theyāre going to put all these loyalists or people that will be their shock troops.ā
Government jobs have often been considered secure positions, but OāHara said thereās fear in the workforce. The sense from his colleagues is āI donāt know if Iām going to be here tomorrow because, like, we donāt know whatās going to happen.āā
Dan Smith, a Maryland resident whose father was a research scientist at the Department of Agriculture, said federal workers are āso underappreciated and so taken for granted.ā
āItās one thing to downsize the government. Itās one thing to try to obliterate it," Smith said. "And thatās whatās going on. And that is what is so frightening and disgusting and requires pushback.ā
Mary-Jean Burke, a physical therapist for the Department of Veterans Affairs in Indianapolis, said she's worried that too many people will leave, jeopardizing health care services.
Burke, who also serves as a union official, said doubts have also been growing over whether to take the offer.
āOriginally, I think people were like, āIām out of here,'" she said. But then they saw a social media post from DOGE, which said employees can "take the vacation you always wanted, or just watch movies and chill, while receiving your full government pay and benefits.ā
The message backfired because "that kind of thing sounded a little bit too good to be true and people were hesitant,ā Burke said.
Either way, she said, Trump has achieved his apparent goal of shaking up the federal workforce.
āEvery day, itās something,ā Burke said. āIf he signed up to be a disrupter, heās doing it.ā
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Associated Press writers Nancy Benac, Nathan Ellgren, Gary Fields, Joshua Goodman, Will Weissert and Brian Witte contributed to this report.
Chris Megerian, Collin Binkley And Byron Tau, The Associated Press
