It’s just breaking that President Trump’s buyout plan for federal employees has been green-lighted by a federal judge, who had put the program on pause until a hearing today.

This means that President Trump can effectively and significantly shrink the size of government:

 
Here’s more from the Washington Post:

A federal judge on Wednesday lifted his pause on the Trump administration’s deferred resignation program, a win for President Donald Trump as he pushes to shrink the federal workforce.

The program — which encourages federal workers to resign with the promise of pay through September — had been halted since last Thursday, when U.S. District Judge George A. O’Toole temporarily stopped the Office of Personnel Management from moving ahead. Unions representing more than 800,000 federal workers had filed a lawsuit to stop the program, calling it an “arbitrary, unlawful, short-fused ultimatum.”

In his ruling, O’Toole Jr. wrote that the unions’ lawsuit could not succeed because they lacked standing to sue and because his court lacked jurisdiction.

Some 65,000 workers have reportedly already accepted the deal, according to the White House.

The decision out of the Massachusetts courthouse marks another milestone in a tumultuous period for federal workers, who have been left scrambling to make up their minds since the resignation offer, with the subject line “Fork in the Road,” first landed in their inboxes Jan. 28. Some workers jumped at the chance to leave. Others urged colleagues to reject a deal they consider a trap that will be used to eliminate staff without any payout.

I’m sure this will be appealed by the unions, but at least for now President Trump can continue getting rid of federal employees.

In case you were wondering, Judge George A. O’Toole is a Bill Clinton appointee.