Donald Trump administration's mass layoffs on Thursday (Feb 20) escaped restrictions as a federal judge rejected a bid by labour unions to block them.

Advertisment

US District Judge Christopher R. Cooper in his ruling said that while he was sympathetic to the plight of the National Treasury Employees Union and the four other unions, the federal court was not the appropriate venue for their lawsuit.

Court denies union's motion

In his order, Judge Cooper wrote, "NTEU fails to establish that it is likely to succeed on the merits because this Court likely lacks subject matter jurisdiction over the claims it asserts."

Advertisment

Also read | US Court refuses to block Elon Musk, DOGE from accessing data, firing workers

"The Court will therefore deny the unions’ motion for a temporary restraining order and, for the same reasons, deny their request for a preliminary injunction," Cooper wrote in his order."

This ruling comes as unions seek to block Trump's order to fire thousands of probationary employees for "large-scale reductions" in the federal workforce. 

Advertisment

Cooper said that the claims seeking restrictions on Trump's Feb 11 executive order should go to the Federal Labour Relations Authority, which handles federal labour disputes. He also noted that the claims heard there can be "followed by judicial review in the courts of appeals."

Also read | ‘I love it’: Trump backs idea of sending some savings from DOGE back to US citizens

Judge sympathises with Trump administration "chaos"

"The first month of President Trump’s second administration has been defined by an onslaught of executive actions that have caused, some say by design, disruption and even chaos in widespread quarters of American society. Affected citizens and their advocates have challenged many of these actions on an emergency basis in this Court and others across the country," wrote the judge in his 16-page ruling.

"Certain of the President’s actions have been temporarily halted; others have been permitted to proceed, at least for the time being."

Also read | Trump's second term sparks controversy: 57 pc of Americans say he’s overstepped authority

"These mixed results should surprise no one. Federal district judges are duty-bound to decide legal issues based on 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."

In the one month since coming to power, the Trump 2.0 administration's mass firings have impacted thousands. As per NBC, 3,000 people at the US Forest Service have been fired, along with over 1,000 at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Homeland Security, the Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration have also been hit by layoffs.

(With inputs from agencies)