A federal judge reinstated on Wednesday the Trump administration’s controversial buyout plan for federal workers, handing President Donald Trump and DOGE chief Elon Musk a win in their bid to shrink the government workforce.
U.S. District Judge George O’Toole in Massachusetts dissolved the temporary restraining order that blocked an Office of Personnel Management memo offering employees eight months of pay to quit their jobs.
The American Federation of Government Employees and other federal worker unions filed a lawsuit seeking to freeze the buyouts, but O’Toole said they lacked the legal standing to sue because they were not directly impacted by the plan.
“The plaintiffs cannot manufacture standing through self-inflicted harms,” the judge wrote. “The unions do not have the required direct stake in the [d]irective, but are challenging a policy that affects others, specifically executive branch employees. This is not sufficient.” O’Toole also said the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the plaintiffs’ claims.
The decision marks a win for the Trump administration, which has been hit with a flurry of lawsuits challenging its efforts to overhaul the government.
The OPM memo said federal workers could get paid through the end of September if they resigned by Feb. 6. The deadline was put on hold as O’Toole considered the unions’ arguments.
Musk, chief of the Department of Government Efficiency, described the offer as “a good deal”: “They can earn double income, go on vacation, whatever they want.”
Around 20,000 government employees had taken the deal as of Feb. 4, according to CNN, which earlier reported that the Trump administration was planning sweeping cuts of federal workers who don’t take the buyout deal.
“The reality is clear: A large-scale reduction, in response to the President’s workforce executive orders, is already happening,” an administration official previously told CNN. “The government is restructuring, and unfortunately, many employees will later realize they missed a valuable, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
