The administration of President Donald Trump is giving federal employees the option of accepting a “deferred resignation,” which would entail agreeing to leave now but continuing to receive pay through September.
According to a senior administration official who spoke to NBC News, they anticipate that between 5 and 10% of federal employees will leave, which may result in savings of about $100 billion.
All full-time federal employees are eligible, with the exception of those in the armed forces, the US Postal Service, employment involving immigration enforcement and national security, and other positions that agencies have excluded.
In a statement, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated, “American taxpayers pay for the salaries of federal government employees, and therefore deserve employees working on their behalf who actually show up to work in our wonderful federal buildings, also paid for by taxpayers.” “If they don t want to work in the office and contribute to making America great again, then they are free to choose a different line of work, and the Trump Administration will provide a very generous payout of 8 months.”
The buyout bid was first reported by Axios.
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Through a new mechanism that the Trump administration established that allows officials to contact all federal employees at once, the offer was distributed to the federal workforce.
A draft resignation letter was attached to the email for their perusal. If someone wants to leave, they can respond with the term “resign.”
The period for resignations will start on Tuesday and end on February 6.
“If you choose to remain in your current position, we thank you for your renewed focus on serving the American people to the best of your abilities and look forward to working together as part of an improved federal workforce,” the message that federal employees will receive states. “At this time, we cannot give you full assurance regarding the certainty of your position or agency but should your position be eliminated you will be treated with dignity and will be afforded the protections in place for such positions.”
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“You will retain all pay and benefits regardless of your daily workload and will be exempt from all applicable in-person work requirements until September 30, 2025 (or earlier if you choose to accelerate your resignation for any reason),” the email also informs employees, should they decide to leave under this program.
The Trump administration’s email was harshly denounced by AFGE National President Everett Kelley, who stated that it “should not be viewed as voluntary.”
More Americans than ever before depend on government services, but the number of public officials hasn’t changed significantly since 1970, according to Kelley. “Purging the federal government of dedicated career civil servants will have vast, unintended consequences that will cause chaos for the Americans who depend on a functioning federal government.”
“Between the flurry of anti-worker executive orders and policies, it is clear that the Trump administration s goal is to turn the federal government into a toxic environment where workers cannot stay even if they want to,” he stated.
Shortly after taking over Twitter, tech mogul Elon Musk, who is currently leading Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency, famously wrote a similar email to staff members, urging them to opt in to continue working for the company. Musk renamed the platform X.
Whether he was involved in the current endeavor was not disclosed by White House officials. However, the email that will be sent to government employees has the subject line “Fork in the Road.”
Musk’s email to Twitter staff members had the same subject line. One of Musk’s pinned posts on X is a commissioned artwork titled “A Fork in the Road.”