On Wednesday, a federal judge in Boston lifted the temporary injunction on the unprecedented buyout proposal from the Trump administration that enables millions of federal employees to voluntarily resign, thus allowing the contentious “fork in the road” initiative to advance.

U.S. District Judge George A. O’Toole Jr. had previously suspended the administration’s offer of mass resignations to federal employees last week, mere hours before the deadline for taking advantage of the offer. This action followed a lawsuit filed by labor unions representing government workers, which argued that the administration lacked the legal basis for such buyouts.

In his ruling on Wednesday, O’Toole determined that the unions did not possess the standing necessary to pursue the lawsuit.

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He stated, “The plaintiffs are not directly affected by the directive. Instead, they contend that the directive creates downstream effects, such as reallocating resources to address inquiries from their members, potential membership losses, and possible reputational damage.” He elaborated, “The unions lack the direct interest needed in the Fork Directive and are contesting a policy that primarily influences executive branch employees. This does not meet the necessary criteria.”

O’Toole further stated that the previously imposed “temporary restraining order is hereby LIFTED, and any additional preliminary injunction is hereby DENIED.”

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt praised the judge’s decision, stating, “This ruling regarding the Boston Buyout is a significant legal victory for the President. It highlights that efforts through litigation will not ultimately overshadow the desires of the 77 million Americans who backed President Trump and his agenda.”

Legal representatives for the unions did not respond promptly to requests for comments.

The Office of Personnel Management had sent out the mass “deferred resignation” offer to employees via a January 28 email titled “Fork in the Road.” This program enables workers to resign now while receiving compensation through September.

Some legal experts have raised questions regarding the legitimacy of this offer. Recently, employees in the Education Department were cautioned that the administration might choose to cancel the program, potentially leaving them without support.

A senior administration official informed NBC News when the offer was initially rolled out that they anticipated between 5% and 10% of the federal workforce would opt to resign, projecting savings of around $100 billion.

Prior to O’Toole’s freeze on the program, approximately 60,000 federal employees had accepted the buyout offer.

While the majority of full-time federal workers are eligible for this buyout, exceptions apply to military personnel, U.S. Postal Service employees, and individuals in roles related to immigration enforcement, national security, and other roles designated by specific agencies.