​​​​​​​WASHINGTON

A federal judge on Thursday halted a deadline for federal employees to accept the Trump administration’s “deferred resignation” offer, pending further court proceedings on the program’s legality.

The program was offered to roughly 2 million federal employees, with a deadline to opt in by 11.59 pm Eastern time, Thursday.

The government will notify affected workers that the deadline has been put on hold.

US District Judge George O'Toole in Boston issued the temporary restraining order and set a hearing for Monday, according to multiple outlets.

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters that there were more than 40,000 individuals and federal workers, who accepted the buyout.

"We expect that number to increase, and that alone, just the 40,000 -- again, we expect it to increase -- it's going to save the American people tens of millions of dollars," she said.

"And we encourage federal workers in this city to accept the very generous offer. If they don't want to show up to the office, if they want to rip the American people off, then they're welcome to take this buyout, and we'll find highly competent individuals who want to fill these roles," she added.

Citing a Trump administration official familiar with the matter, CNN reported, however, that at least 50,000 people had opted in the program.