Trump administration can continue mass firings of federal workers, US judge rules
By Jack Queen and Daniel Wiessner
February 20, 20253:01 PM CSTUpdated 32 min ago
Feb 20 (Reuters) - The Trump administration can for now continue its mass firings of federal employees, a federal judge ruled on Thursday, rejecting a bid by a group of labor unions to halt President Donald Trump’s dramatic downsizing of the roughly 2.3 million-strong federal workforce.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper in Washington, D.C. federal court is temporary while the litigation plays out. But it is a win for the Trump administration as it seeks to purge the federal workforce and slash what it deems wasteful and fraudulent government spending.
The National Treasury Employees Union and four other unions sued last week to block the administration from firing hundreds of thousands of federal workers and granting buyouts to employees who quit voluntarily.
The unions are seeking to block eight agencies including the Department of Defense, Department of Health and Human Services, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and Department of Veterans Affairs from implementing mass layoffs.
Cooper on Thursday said he likely lacks the power to hear the case, and that the unions instead must file complaints with a federal labor board that hears disputes between unions and federal agencies.
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https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-administration-can-continue-mass-firings-federal-workers-us-judge-rules-2025-02-20/
