WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- A U.S. federal judge on Wednesday gave the green light to President Donald Trump's "deferred resignation" program, which has been commonly described as a "buyout" to trim the federal workforce.

U.S. District Judge George O'Toole ruled that federal employee unions, which had filed a lawsuit on behalf of more than 800,000 federal employees, lack standing to challenge the buyout program, as they are not directly affected by the offer. He lifted a previous temporary restraining order that had paused the program at the unions' request.

The American Federation of Government Employees and other unions have called the administration's "deferred resignation" program to more than 2 million federal civilian employees unlawful.

In an email sent in January to nearly all federal employees, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management said employees could choose to resign now and retain all pay and benefits until Sept. 30.

Local media reported that more than 60,000 employees have already agreed to resign, accounting for roughly 3 percent of the federal employees deemed eligible for "deferred resignation." Enditem

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