A federal judge on Thursday denied an effort by labor unions to block the Trump administration’s effort to drastically reduce the size of the federal work force, allowing the mass firings happening across multiple agencies to proceed.
In the ruling, Judge Christopher R. Cooper, a U.S. District Court judge in Washington, signaled that he was concerned about the upheaval caused by the Trump administration’s actions. But he did not address the legality of the downsizing efforts, writing that the federal court was not the right venue for the dispute.
“The first month of President Trump’s second administration has been defined by an onslaught of executive actions that have caused, some say by design, disruption and even chaos in widespread quarters of American society,” Judge Cooper wrote.
Still, he said, “federal district judges are duty-bound to decide legal issues based on even-handed application of law and precedent — no matter the identity of the litigants or, regrettably at times, the consequences of their rulings for average people.”
Judge Cooper said that he was denying the unions’ request that he block the Trump administration from continuing its downsizing efforts because the matter should be first addressed with the agency that adjudicates labor disputes between federal employee unions and management, known as the Federal Labor Relations Authority.
Judge Cooper noted that if the unions lose in that venue, they could resume their court battle through the federal court of appeals.
Judge Cooper’s ruling in the case was similar to one that was made in a separate case last week by a judge in Massachusetts. In that case, the judge agreed labor unions representing federal workers did not have standing to challenge the Trump administration’s actions in federal court.
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