 "Elon Musk listens to US President Donald Trump speak in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC on, February 11. Reuters")
A federal judge ruled on Thursday that US President Donald Trump’s administration can continue the mass firing of government employees for now.
The court rejected a bid by a group of labour unions to halt Trump’s dramatic downsizing of the roughly 2.3 million-strong federal workforce.
US District Judge Christopher Cooper said in a 16-page judgment that he had to deny the unions’ request for relief because he lacked jurisdiction over the claims.
The judge was appointed by former President Barack Obama.
The judge emphasised in the ruling that the unions must pursue their legal challenges through the scheme established by Congress in the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute, which governs labour relations in the federal workforce.
“Federal district judges are duty-bound to decide legal issues based on the even-handed application of law and precedent — no matter the identity of the litigants or, regrettably at times, the consequences of their rulings for average people,” the judge wrote in the judgment.
Unions sue Trump admin
The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) and four other unions sued the Trump administration over the mass layoffs aimed at reducing the federal workforce. Unions argue that these actions misuse probationary periods and represent a politically driven effort to shrink government operations.
Trump’s Doge
The new Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) has been cutting thousands of jobs and shutting down federal programmes since Trump took office last month. He also ordered federal agencies to work with Doge to identify employees who could be laid off.
Trump has appointed Tesla CEO Elon Musk to lead the new Department of Government Efficiency (Doge).
With inputs from Reuters.