Federal workers and Democratic lawmakers rallied today to protest President Trump’s deferred resignation offer to government employees, calling the campaign an unlawful attack on the civil service and condemning the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) – which has served as a tip on the spear of the administration’s job-cutting efforts – as more chaotic than effective.
Hundreds of Federal workers on Tuesday attended an outdoor rally on Capitol Hill organized by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) where they listened to a line-up of what organizers said was nearly 30 legislators who promised to fight for continued government worker employment.
AFGE’s rally was held in response to the Trump administrations’ deferred resignation program which promises to offer fully pay and benefits until the end of September for Federal employees who agreed to quit by 11:59 p.m. on Feb. 6.
Following a lawsuit led by AFGE and several other unions, the deferred resignation program is now indefinitely on hold after Judge George O’Toole of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts heard arguments on Monday on the legality of the resignation offer.
Yesterday’s hearing marked O’Toole’s second extension of the program’s deadline for Federal employees after temporarily pausing the program last week.
“I wanted to … make it clear that the attack on you, the attack on the civil service, is unacceptable, unconscionable, un-American, and we are going to stand with you until each and every one of those unlawful executive orders are fully and completely reversed, buried in the ground never to rise again,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., at today’s rally.
Though he didn’t provide much detail on future moves, Jeffries said that Democrats would continue to push for Federal workers to keep their jobs through legislative processes while also utilizing the court systems.
“You should be lifted up not torn down, you should be embraced, not discarded, and we will stand with you until you get the dignity and respect that you deserve … we’re going to do everything that we need to do,” said Jeffries.
Yesterday, O’Toole said that he wouldn’t rule on the legality of the deferred resignation program from the bench but said that the pause would remain in effect until he issues a new order. The union’s suit to stop the program requested that a temporary restraining order (TRO) be put in place.
As of last weekend, about 65,000 – or roughly three percent of the Federal workforce – had agreed to resign, according to the Trump administration.
“We’re not going back to a civil service that was filled with political hacks who cared about their own interest, not America’s interest, not the interests of Americans – you do that work every day,” Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., told Federal workers. “You make a difference every day in the lives of every American, and that’s why you’re out here. That’s why my fellow members are out here in the cold, because we’re not too cold to fight back.”
The latest decision by Judge O’Toole joins actions in a flurry of other suits against the Trump administration in its first few weeks in office.
On Monday, six judges took various actions to limit the president’s wide-sweeping executive orders, including on the recent Federal grant and loan freeze. In that case, states suing to stop the funding freeze say the Trump administration has failed to comply with a TRO that previously halted its efforts.
“Now certain activists and highly political judges want us to slow down, or stop. Losing this momentum will be very detrimental to finding the TRUTH, which is turning out to be a disaster for those involved in running our Government,” Trump said in a post to Truth Social on Monday night following the courts’ decisions.
Aiding Trump by leading efforts to implement executive orders includes DOGE chief Elon Musk, who legislators said is overstepping his authority.
Rep. Linda Sánchez, D-Calif., said that the “billionaire bros” like Musk and others in the Trump administration are looking to “create more chaos.” She called on other lawmakers to start looking into new solutions for combating actions taken by the new administration.
“They’ve tried to bully workers off the job with illegal offers to quit, they’ve ignored signed contracts, and they’ve tried to bust unions all the while so they can get richer off the lives of ordinary Americans who get poor,” said Sánchez.
Congressional Labor Caucus Co-Chair Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., said his office received over 4,000 calls from constituents last week concerned about the deferral program.
“Elon Musk has been bulldozing through the Federal workforce, demanding the firing of hundreds of thousands of employees, and your only fireable offense is trying to serve the American people,” said Pocan. “We have your back, America has your back, and we’re gonna get this done. And Elon Musk – two more words – you’re fired.”
