A federal judge on Thursday paused the deadline for millions of federal workers to decide whether to accept the offer from President Donald Trump's administration to resign with the promise of months of full pay, as a fight over the lawfulness of the buyout push goes forward.
US District Judge George O’Toole announced at a brief hearing that he would block the administration implementing the offer until he holds another conference on February 10 on a longer-term halt.
Mr O’Toole said that he was barring US officials from carrying out the directive to allow time for “proper consideration” of the issues.
Federal employees will receive formal notice of the judge’s order, a US Justice Department lawyer confirmed during the hearing. More than 40,000 employees − representing about 2 per cent of the workforce − had signed up for the resignation offer ahead of the February 6 deadline, according to Bloomberg.
Billionaire Elon Musk, who heads the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency, has been tasked by Mr Trump with eliminating government waste. To that end, federal employees received the buyout offer on January 28 by email − in messaging that was similar to the message Mr Musk had sent to employees of the social media platform Twitter after he bought it and renamed it X.
The message said US employees who took the offer would not be expected to continue performing their jobs and would keep their pay and benefits through until September. It included language that the unions described as “barely veiled threats” of being fired if they did not resign.
The unions contend that the administration caused “sheer chaos” by trying to import “Musk’s questionable private-sector business model to the federal government”. They argued the resignation offer was a pretext to clear out positions across federal agencies to refill with new hires “on an ideological basis”.
The challengers to Mr Musk's order argued that a temporary reprieve was needed because they would be “irreparably harmed by long-lasting impacts of the rushed and ill-informed choice … foisted upon their members”.
Caught up in the battle is the future of the US Agency for International Development, which helps to administer US foreign aid. After taking office, Mr Trump ordered a freeze on foreign aid, pending review, and employees of USAID worldwide were placed on leave.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced this week that he is now the acting administrator of USAID, amid rumours the independent agency could be moved under his department's authority.
The move has raised alarm not only among employees but also countries that depend on US aid to alleviate poverty and provide jobs.
Mr Musk has described USAID as a “criminal organisation” that was “beyond repair”.
“Time for it to die,” he said in a post on X.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Summer special
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
The specs: 2019 Mercedes-Benz C200 Coupe
Price, base: Dh201,153
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Power: 204hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 300Nm @ 1,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.7L / 100km
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Stage results
1. Julian Alaphilippe (FRA) Deceuninck-QuickStep 4:39:05
2. Michael Matthews (AUS) Team BikeExchange 0:00:08
3. Primoz Roglic (SLV) Jumbo-Visma same time
4. Jack Haig (AUS) Bahrain Victorious s.t
5. Wilco Kelderman (NED) Bora-Hansgrohe s.t
6. Tadej Pogacar (SLV) UAE Team Emirates s.t
7. David Gaudu (FRA) Groupama-FDJ s.t
8. Sergio Higuita Garcia (COL) EF Education-Nippo s.t
9. Bauke Mollema (NED) Trek-Segafredo s.t
10. Geraint Thomas (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers s.t
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%3Cp%3EEncourage%20innovation%20in%20the%20metaverse%20field%20and%20boost%20economic%20contribution%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EDevelop%20outstanding%20talents%20through%20education%20and%20training%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EDevelop%20applications%20and%20the%20way%20they%20are%20used%20in%20Dubai's%20government%20institutions%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAdopt%2C%20expand%20and%20promote%20secure%20platforms%20globally%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EDevelop%20the%20infrastructure%20and%20regulations%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
