US court allows Donald Trump to continue mass firing of federal employees

US District Court Judge Christopher Cooper observed that he does not have the authority to rule on whether terminating tens of thousands of government workers is lawful

A US District Court has ruled in favour of President Donald Trump’s administration, allowing it to proceed with large-scale firing of federal employees. The court said on Thursday (February 21) that it lacks jurisdiction to determine the legality of these firings and dismissed a petition brought by labour unions, according to a Reuters report.  

 

Judge Christopher Cooper, presiding in Washington DC, observed that he does not have the authority to rule on whether terminating tens of thousands of government workers is lawful. He advised the unions to take their grievances to the Federal Labor Relations Authority, which handles disputes between federal agencies and workers' unions.  

 

“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.  

 

Widespread disruption amid mass firings  

 

While delivering the ruling, Judge Cooper acknowledged that Donald Trump’s wave of dismissals and related executive actions have led to “disruption and even chaos in widespread quarters of American society.”  

 

The decision is expected to enable further large-scale layoffs as Trump’s administration pushes to reduce the federal workforce and cut what it considers unnecessary government spending.  

 

Doreen Greenwald, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, has criticised the ruling, saying, “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.”  

 

Potential job cuts at the IRS  

 

As part of the administration’s workforce reduction strategy, more than 6,000 employees at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) could face termination, according to a USA Today report, which cited a senior official.  

 

The planned layoffs would affect over 6 per cent of the IRS workforce, coinciding with the peak of the tax-filing season. The administration’s downsizing efforts extend beyond the IRS, targeting bank regulators, forest workers, rocket scientists, and thousands of other federal employees.  

 

Leading this initiative is the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a newly established agency under Trump’s presidency, headed by Elon Musk. DOGE has overseen sweeping job cuts across federal agencies while dismantling various funding programs in an effort to reduce government expenditures.