the federal judge who had temporarily blocked President Trump and Elon Musk’s plan to offer most federal workers paid administrative leave if they resign by September 30 reversed course Tuesday, dissolving the temporary restraining order upon concluding he lacked jurisdiction in the case.
The American Federation of Government Employees had sued to block the deferred resignation program, arguing that its chaotic rollout and shifting legal justifications constituted violations of the Administrative Procedure Act’s protections against “arbitrary and capricious” decision-making, and that the promise to pay employees past the March 14 shutdown deadline could constitute an Anti-Deficiency Act violation.
But the government argued that the unions lacked standing in the case because the 1978 Civil Service Reform Act channels most disputes over federal personnel policy or decisions to either the Federal Labor Relations Authority, the Merit Systems Protection Board or U.S. Office of Special Counsel. This week, Trump has removed leaders from all three agencies amid a governmentwide purge of appointees in watchdog roles.
In his decision, U.S. District Judge George A. O’Toole Jr., a Clinton appointee in Massachusetts, wrote that the union’s challenges are of the type Congress “intended for review within the statutory scheme,” referring to the need to file administrative appeals before going to court. He also denied the union’s request for a preliminary injunction.
“Aggrieved employees can bring claims through the administrative process,” he wrote. “That the unions themselves may be foreclosed from this administrative process does not mean that adequate judicial review is lacking.”
The administration said Monday that 65,000 employees had accepted the deferred resignation offer thus far. OPM did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding what the new deadline would be.
