Federal worker buyout deadline: What we know about the deferred resignation program
Can President Trump shut down a federal agency?
A judge temporarily blocked President Donald Trump's plan offering incentives for federal workers to resign and extended the deadline to Monday. LiveNOW's Andrew Craft spoke about the federal employee deferred resignation offer and more with BasedPolitics Co-Founder Brad Polumbo.
A judge temporarily blocked President Donald Trump's plan offering incentives for federal workers to resign and extended the deadline to Monday.
Federal workers are facing a deadline to decide whether they want to receive a financial buyout to quit their jobs. The deadline for over 2 million employees to decide was initially Thursday at 11:59 p.m. ET.
FILE-Workers and supporters protest against the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in front of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) on February 05, 2025 in Washington, DC. Workers and supporters protested outside ahead of a scheduled meeting be
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This buyout is led by Elon Musk, one of President Donald Trump’s advisers, who has organized a financial incentive for workers to leave their government jobs by offering several months of pay in exchange for their resignation, the Associated Press reported.
White House press secretary Karoline Levitt said over 40,000 federal workers have applied to leave in return for being paid until Sept. 30, according to the AP.
"We encourage federal workers in this city to accept the very generous offer," she said at about the same time as the judge's ruling came out. "They don’t want to come into the office. If they want to rip the American people off, then they’re welcome to take this buyout and we’ll find highly qualified people" to replace them.
What is the deferred resignation program?
President Donald Trump’s administration is offering buyouts to federal employees to quickly reduce the government workforce.
The buyouts are for all full-time federal employees except for military personnel, employees of the U.S. Postal Service and those in positions related to immigration enforcement and national security. Workers will receive roughly eight months of salary if they accept the offer, the Associated Press reported.
President Trump offers buyouts to all federal workers
President Donald Trump is offering buyouts worth seven months’ salary to all federal employees who opt to leave their jobs by Feb. 6, according to a memo from the Office of Personal Management. The buyout is part of Trump’s unprecedented overhaul of the United States government. Last week, Trump signed an executive order requiring federal employees to return to in-person work. The order comes after Trump indicated that he planned to push back on former President Joe Biden's move to allow federal workers to remain in a hybrid work arrangement through 2029.
In addition to receiving their salary and retaining all benefits during this time, employees who agree to the buyout will be exempted from all applicable in-person work requirements until Sept. 30, as the Trump administration works to require employees to return to government offices.
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Workers are receiving the offers via email with instructions on how to accept the buyout: select "Reply" and "Type the word ‘Resign’ into the body of this email and hit ‘send.’"
The email, obtained by the Associated Press, reads in part that anyone who remains will be expected to be "loyal" and "will be subject to enhanced standards of suitability and conduct as we move forward." Some employees could be reclassified to limit civil service protections as well.
"Employees who engage in unlawful behavior or other misconduct will be prioritized for appropriate investigation and discipline, including termination," according to the email.
What they're saying:
The Trump administration added pressure on employees to leave, sending a reminder that layoffs or furloughs could come next.
"The majority of federal agencies are likely to be downsized through restructurings, realignments, and reductions in force," said the message from the Office of Personnel Management, the Associated Press noted.
Democrats tell the AP that federal workers shouldn't accept the deferred resignation program because it wasn't authorized by Congress, raising the risk they won't get paid.
"It’s a scam and not a buyout," Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, told the AP.
What happens if government workers don’t accept the offer?
Government workers who don't accept the offer have been told their jobs could be at risk as the Trump administration moves ahead with its overhaul of government operations, Reuters reported.
The news outlet noted that Trump's officials at the Department of Justice have already fired prosecutors who worked on cases involving individuals who attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, and have demanded the names of up to 6,000 FBI agents who were involved.
Can workers return to government service if they take the buyout?
Workers who take the buyout can apply for other government work in the future.
How many government workers are there?
By the numbers:
The federal government employs over 3 million people, accounting for 1.9% of the nation’s entire civilian workforce, the Associated Press reported, citing the Pew Research Center. The civilian workforce is about 2.4 million, not including the U.S. Postal Service employees and active-duty military.
Almost 20% of federal workers are in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. California has 147,500 federal employees, but it's less than 1% of total nonfarming employees in the state, the AP noted.
Texas has 130,000 federal workers, but that accounts for less than 1% of nonfarming jobs there and Florida has 94,000.