A federal judge ruled Thursday that the Trump administration may proceed with its broad restructuring of the federal workforce, rejecting an attempt by five federal employee unions to block mass firings.
U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper determined that the unions must pursue their claims through federal employment law channels rather than through district court. While Cooper acknowledged that Trump’s first month in office has led to what he described as “disruption and even chaos in widespread quarters of American society,” he concluded that he likely lacks the authority to rule on the legality of the administration’s staffing reductions.
The decision clears the way for the administration to continue its efforts to reduce the size of the federal workforce, a process largely shaped by recommendations from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is led by Elon Musk. The administration has cited waste reduction and cost savings as primary motivations for the staffing changes.
JUST IN: U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled that Trump can continue with mass firings pic.twitter.com/yGk8fQ6LSS
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) February 20, 2025
According to Reuters, the ruling indicates that complaints regarding the firings must be brought before the Federal Labor Relations Authority, the agency responsible for resolving disputes between federal agencies and the unions representing their employees. “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,” Cooper wrote in his decision.
Doreen Greenwald, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, described the ruling as a temporary setback and emphasized that the legal challenge would continue through other avenues. “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,” Greenwald said in a statement.
The ruling is the latest in a series of legal challenges from federal employee unions seeking to halt the administration’s mass firings and voluntary buyout programs. The departments affected include the Department of Defense, Department of Health and Human Services, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and Department of Veterans Affairs. The administration has argued that these cuts are necessary to streamline operations and reduce government spending.
Two other federal judges have issued similar rulings, finding that unions have not demonstrated sufficient legal standing to challenge the firings. On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan denied a separate attempt to block DOGE from continuing its role in personnel decisions. Chutkan, who previously oversaw special counsel Jack Smith’s case against Trump, ruled that the unions and Democratic officials who filed the lawsuit failed to prove that DOGE’s recommendations posed an immediate or irreparable harm.
That case was brought by 14 Democratic state attorneys general who sought to prevent DOGE from accessing personnel and budgetary data from seven federal agencies. Chutkan determined that their claims did not meet the legal threshold required to justify an emergency intervention.
The rulings collectively represent a significant legal victory for the Trump administration as it moves forward with its plan to restructure the federal workforce. While union leaders have vowed to continue their efforts to challenge the firings, the administration remains legally unimpeded in its broader efforts to reshape government staffing and operations.
