White House says some employees were fired by mistake

During an hourlong hearing on the fate of the Trump administration’s buyout offer, a lawyer for the Department of Justice attempted to frame the deferred resignation offer as a “humane off-ramp” for federal employees before Trump enacts sweeping changes to “rebalance and reorganize the federal workforce.”

“President Trump campaigned on a promise to reform the federal workforce,” DOJ attorney Eric Hamilton said, outlining Trump’s return-to-office executive order and plan to reduce the size of the federal government. “We understand these announcements may have come as a disappointment for some in the federal workforce.”

Hamilton argued that any further delay of the buyout would cause irreparable harm because the Trump administration plans to enact the next steps of reshaping the federal government -- to “rebalance and reorganize the federal workforce” -- as soon as the buyout window closes.

Sen. Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, told ABC News that he reads Vice President JD Vance's assertion that "judges are not allowed to defy the executive's legitimate power" as "one step away from a constitutional crisis.”

"Let's be very blunt about this. If he believes the executive branch can ignore directives coming down from the judicial branch it is an invitation to a constitutional crisis," Durbin said.

When asked what if anything could be done to push back, Durbin said they'd have to "hope the courts rule the proper way, the rationale way, so we have a position to defend.”

He added that the vice president’s comments are “one of the most irresponsible statements” he has ever heard “from a highly elected official in our country” and that it has a “chilling effect” on Congress.

-ABC News’ Allie Pecorin

In another preview clip from his interview with Fox News that will air this evening, Trump said Vice President JD Vance is not his successor.

When asked if he views Vance as his successor, potentially becoming the Republican nominee in 2028, Trump responded, "No, but he's very capable."

"I mean, I don't think that it, you know, I think you have a lot of very capable people," he continued. "So far, I think he's doing a fantastic job. It's too early. We're just starting."

-ABC News' Hannah Demissie

A court officer confirmed that U.S. District Judge George A. O'Toole, Jr. does not intend to return to the bench Monday afternoon to make a decision on the federal buyout deadline.

Earlier Monday, a federal judge in Boston said he would continue to pause the Trump administration from carrying out its deferred resignation offer for thousands of federal employees until he issues a ruling on a preliminary injunction.

For now, the temporary restraining order from last week blocking the enforcement of the buyout offer remains in effect. If Judge O'Toole, Jr. does not issue a decision by midnight, OPM would not be permitted to enforce the deferred resignation plan.

-- ABC News' Peter Charalambous