Trump Offers Federal Workers Paid Resignations: What You Need to Know

The Trump administration is giving federal workers a chance to resign now and still get paid until September. An official told NBC News that about 5% to 10% of federal employees might choose to leave, which could save the government around $100 billion!

They are offering an eight-month buyout to any worker who resigns within the next week. This offer was made to over 2.3 million federal employees on January 28. While most full-time federal employees can take this offer, members of the military and some other workers are not eligible.

White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said taxpayers deserve workers who show up to do their jobs. She added, “If you don’t want to work here, you can choose another job, and we’ll give you a generous payout of eight months’ salary.”

The administration set up a new email system to share this offer with all federal workers at once. In the email, there is a draft resignation letter. If someone wants to resign, they just need to reply with the word “resign.” The resignation period is open from Tuesday until February 6.

The email also says, “If you decide to stay, we appreciate your commitment to serving the American people.” However, it mentions that there’s no guarantee that everyone’s job will remain secure. If you resign through this program, you’ll still get all your pay and benefits, and you won’t have to come to work in-person until September 30, 2025, unless you decide to leave sooner.

Everett Kelley, the leader of a federal employees’ group, criticized this plan, stating it should not be seen as voluntary. He noted that the number of civil servants hasn’t changed much since 1970, even though more people need government services. Kelley warned that removing dedicated workers from the federal government could create big problems for those who rely on its services.

Interestingly, the email’s subject line was ‘Fork in the Road,’ a phrase also used by Elon Musk when he took over Twitter (now called X) and asked employees to commit to working there. There’s no confirmation yet if Musk had any role in the Trump administration’s actions.