Rep. Courtney Applauds New Order Pausing Trump’s Federal Worker “Buyout”
Order follows Courtney action to protect federal workers
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. Joe Courtney (CT-02) applauded the temporary block on President Trump’s buyout offer to federal workers. Massachusetts Senior District Judge George O’Toole ordered the February 6 11:59 p.m. deadline for the Trump Administration’s “Fork Directive” program be extended, pending argument now scheduled for Monday, February 10.
“Judge O’Toole’s temporary block is a relief to the dedicated, non-partisan federal employees who have been relentlessly pressured by the Trump Administration and the quasi-appointee Elon Musk to resign. This pause will allow federal employees to more carefully scrutinize this unprecedented, unauthorized offer and consult employee representatives. It will also allow other emergency litigation to play out in the courts to ensure our federal workforce, who work everyday to support our way of life, is legally protected from politically motivated actions,” said Courtney.
Earlier today, Rep. Courtney sent a letter to federal workers in eastern Connecticut urging them to act with caution and also joined a bipartisan legislative push to protect the civil servants, including the thousands in his district, from President Trump’s and Elon Musk’s efforts.
“Connecticut's Second District is home to over 10,500 federal workers. From employees at SUBASE New London to the Social Security Administration and the U.S. Postal Service, eastern CT’s federal employees carry out critical work every day to support our way of life. I’m committed to supporting them,” wrote Courtney.“In Congress, I am pushing to advance legislation like the Saving the Civil Service Act to strengthen protections from the politicization of the non-partisan civil service and block President Trump’s actions aimed at pushing out civil servants. This bill is urgently needed as a check to the Trump administration’s illegal and unprecedented actions.”
The Saving the Civil Service Act would prevent any position in the federal civil service from being reclassified outside of merit system principles without the express consent of Congress. This bill would secure the civil service and protect more than 100,000 federal employees from losing job protections and due process rights.