💼 In a major development, a federal judge has given the Trump administration the green light to continue its sweeping firings of federal employees. This means that the President can keep downsizing the 2.3 million-strong federal workforce for now.
U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper from Washington, D.C. dismissed a lawsuit from several labor unions aiming to stop the mass terminations. While Judge Cooper acknowledged that Trump's rapid executive actions caused \"disruption and even chaos\" across American society, he stated that he might not have the authority to determine the legality of firing tens of thousands of government workers.
Instead of a court halt, the unions are now required to take their case to the Federal Labor Relations Authority, which deals with disputes between federal agencies and their employee unions.
Despite the backlash, the Trump administration is pushing forward with its plan to reduce what it considers wasteful government spending by trimming the federal workforce. The White House and the Department of Justice haven’t commented yet.
On the flip side, labor leaders like Doreen Greenwald, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, label the decision a temporary setback. They vow to keep fighting, arguing that the administration is overstepping by trying to bypass Congress's power to oversee federal agencies.
This ruling is another hurdle for unions attempting to challenge Trump's unprecedented efforts to shrink the federal bureaucracy. Previous court decisions have already dismissed some of these challenges due to lack of legal standing.
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Judge allows Trump's mass firings of federal workers to continue
cgtn.com
