Donald Trump administration can continue dramatic downsizing of federal workforce, rules US judge

In a big win for United States President Donald Trump, a US District court on Thursday ruled that his administration can continue mass firings of federal employees for now. The court cited that it lacks the authority to rule on the legality of the mass firings and rejected a plea filed by a group of labour unions.

US District Judge Christopher Cooper in Washington, D.C. said he doesn’t have the power to decide whether firing tens of thousands of government workers is lawful.

He also asked the labour unions to raise their complaints with the Federal Labor Relations Authority, which hears disputes between federal agencies and unions representing their workers.

“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 ordinary people,” the judge wrote.

Donald Trump’s mass firing spree caused ‘disruption and chaos’

While announcing the decision, Cooper observed that Donald Trump’s mass firing spree and other executive actions have caused “disruption and even chaos in widespread quarters of American society”.

This development will likely pave the way for more mass layoffs by the Trump administration in the coming days as he seeks to purge the federal workforce and slash what it deems wasteful and fraudulent government spending.

Expressing disappointment over the US court’s decision, Doreen Greenwald, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, said, “There is no doubt that the administration’s actions are an illegal end-run on Congress, which has the sole power to create and oversee federal agencies and their important missions.”

Over 6,000 IRS employees fear termination

As the Donald Trump administration continues to execute its plan for large-scale force reductions, the US Internal Revenue Service may witness the termination of over 6,000 employees, USA Today reported, citing a senior staffer.

The move would eliminate over 6% of the agency’s workforce amid tax-filing season. Donald Trump’s administration is targeting bank regulators, forest workers, rocket scientists, and thousands of employees of different government departments in a downsizing effort led by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

The Trump dispensation targets budget cuts between 30% and 40%, and staffing cuts are envisaged to facilitate that, according to a report in The Washington Post.

Trump has appointed Tesla CEO Elon Musk to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which has cut thousands of jobs and cancelled federal programs since the new administration took over on January 30, Reuters reported.