- A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s offer to buy out 2 million federal employees. A hearing on the offer’s legality is scheduled for Monday.
- The White House is still encouraging employees to take the deal, and it said more than 40,000 have.
- Democrats in Congress are warning employees not to take it — they say they can’t guarantee employees will be paid as promised.
Full Story
A federal judge temporarily blocked President Trump’s offer to buy out nearly 2 million federal employees. The judge’s order requires the administration to extend the deadline to take the deal from Thursday, Feb. 6, until after Monday, Feb. 10, when a hearing is scheduled on the offers’ legality.
Media Landscape
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Left 23%
Center 46%
Right 31%
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According to The Associated Press, District Judge George O’Toole Jr. did not say whether he thinks the Trump administration has the authority to move forward with the plan, saying he would weigh those arguments next week.
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Three labor unions, including the American Federation of Government Employees, sued the Trump administration, arguing that the buyouts violate federal law and are “arbitrary and capricious.”
What is Trump’s team saying?
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said more than 40,000 federal workers agreed to take the deal. That’s just a fifth of the 200,000 the White House expected.
The offer allows federal workers to resign and keep their pay and benefits until Sept. 30.
“We encourage federal workers in this city to accept the very generous offer,” Leavitt said. “If they don’t want to show up to the office, if they want to rip the American people off, then they’re welcome to take this buyout, and we’ll find highly competent individuals who want to fill these roles.”
The Office of Personnel Management said employees will get paid after they leave, even if there’s a government shutdown after March 14.
Should employees take the deal?
Democrats on Capitol Hill are warning employees not to take the offer because they don’t think the president has the authority to pay people who aren’t working without approval from Congress.
“I’ve been saying to all the federal employees, ‘Beware of this offer.’ I don’t believe it’s been funded,” Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said. “I don’t believe Donald Trump has any history of ever paying his bills. And I fear that federal employees may be marked for later RIF-ing, potentially without any compensation.”
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“RIF-ing” is a reference to the government term — reduction in force.
The contract workers must sign to resign, stating that they waive their right to sue the government or their agency regarding their employment.
[Ray Bogan]
A federal judge temporarily blocked President Trump’s offer to buy out nearly 2 million federal employees. The judge’s order requires the administration to extend the deadline to take the deal from Thursday, Feb. 6 until after Monday Feb. 10, when a hearing is scheduled on the offers’ legality.
Three labor unions, including the American Federation of Government Employees, sued the Trump administration, arguing the buyouts violate federal law and are “arbitrary and capricious”.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said more than 40,000 federal workers agreed to take the deal. That’s less than a quarter of the 200,000 the White House expected.
The offer allows federal workers to resign and keep their pay and benefits until September 30.
Leavitt: “We encourage federal workers in this city to accept the very generous offer. If they don’t want to show up to the office, if they want to rip the American people off then they’re welcome to take this buyout and we’ll find highly competent individuals who want to fill these roles.
The Office of Personnel Management said employees will get paid after the leave, even if there’s a government shutdown after March 14.
Democrats on Capitol Hill are warning employees not to take the offer because they don’t think the president has the authority to pay people who aren’t working without approval from congress.
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va.: “I’ve been saying to all the federal employees, beware of this offer. I don’t believe it’s been funded. I don’t believe Donald Trump has any history of ever paying his bills. And I fear that federal employees may be marked for later RIFing, potentially without any compensation.”
RIFing is a reference to the government term – reduction in force.
The contract workers must sign to resign states they waive their right to sue the government or their agency regarding their employment.
Media Landscape
See who else is reporting on this story and which side of the political spectrum they lean. To read other sources, click on the plus signs below. Learn more about this data
Left 23%
Center 46%
Right 31%
Bias Distribution
17 other sources covering this story
Total News Sources
17
Leaning Left
3
Center
6
Leaning Right
4
Last Updated
15 hours ago
Bias Distribution Powered by Ground News™
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