NOT HAVING IT

Judge Overturns Trump’s Executive Orders on Firing Federal Workers

In a major victory to federal employee unions that had argued the president exceeded his authority.

A federal district judge in Washington has overturned key parts of three executive orders issued by President Trump that would ease the process for firing federal workers. The ruling, issued Saturday by Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, was hailed as a major victory for federal employee unions, which had argued that Trump exceeded his authority and sought to override federal law in issuing the orders. The orders diminished the powers of unions representing federal workers, instructed agencies to reduce the amount of time underperforming employees are given to improve before they face dismissal, and to limit workers’ resources for appealing performance evaluations. Judge Jackson sided with the unions and ruled that most of Trump’s key provisions “conflict with congressional intent in a manner that cannot be sustained.”