How a massive buyout program would work in practice is unclear, both logistically and legally. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Trump offers a buyout to all Defense civilians, other federal workers
How such a massive "deferred resignation" program would work in practice is unclear, both logistically and legally.
The White House is offering all 2.3 million federal employees—including the Defense Department's 783,000 civilians—a buyout worth roughly eight months of salary and benefits, purportedly for employees who refuse to comply with President Trump’s return-to-office mandate.
The offer—for feds to continue to be paid until Sept. 30, provided they resign by Feb. 6—was emailed to every federal worker Tuesday evening, apparently via the mysterious new email server installed at the Office of Personnel Management this week. OPM also posted the email to its website.
The email frames the buyout offer as a respite from the administration’s effort to effectively end telework for most of the federal workforce, move workers, and eliminate programs. It warns that a “majority” of agencies will see reductions in force, while "a substantial number” of federal employees will be reclassified “to at-will status"—a reference to the administration's moves to reduce civil-service protections.
“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 email 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. If you choose not to continue in your current role in the federal workforce, we thank you for your service to your country and you will be provided with a dignified, fair departure from the federal government utilizing a deferred resignation program.”
The email says that under such a deal, federal workers could continue to telework or work remotely during the “deferred resignation period,” as well as “accelerate” their resignation date. Exemptions exist for immigration and national security jobs, alongside other exclusions laid out by agency leaders.
Axios, which first reported the development, repeated debunked claims from White House officials that only 6 percent of the federal workforce works in person. [In fact, about 90 percent of federal workers do so. And of the Defense Department's 783,000 civilian employees, about 8 percent teleworked or worked remotely in April and May of 2024, OPM reported last year.] Indeed, more than half of federal workers cannot telework because their duties are not portable, and even employees who do some telework spent around 60 percent of their work hours in person, according to Office of Management and Budget data.
How such a massive buyout program would work in practice is unclear, both logistically and legally. Currently, voluntary separation incentive payments to individual employees are capped at $25,000, a figure that would easily be eclipsed by nearly eight months of salary. House Republicans are considering whether to increase of that cap to $40,000 in budget-reconciliation legislation.
In a Tuesday memo to agency heads, Acting OPM Director Charles Ezell said that the way to get around VSIP caps is simple: put workers on paid administrative leave.
"Employees who accept deferred resignation should promptly have their duties re-assigned or eliminated and be placed on paid administrative leave until the end of the deferred resignation period (generally, September 30, 2025, unless the employee has elected another earlier resignation date), unless the agency head determines that it is necessary for the employee to be actively engaged in transitioning job duties, in which case employees should be placed on administrative leave as soon as those duties are transitioned," Ezell wrote.
In a Tuesday statement, American Federation of Government Employees National President Everett Kelley condemned the plan as part of a broader effort to make agencies inhospitable to workers.
“The number of civil servants hasn’t meaningfully changed since 1970, but there are more Americans than ever who rely on government services,” Kelley said. “Purging the federal government of dedicated career federal employees will have vast, unintended consequences that will cause chaos for the Americans who depend on a functioning federal government. This offer should not be viewed as voluntary. 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.”
This story has been updated with additional information from OPM.