Donald Trump offers eight-month buyouts to all federal employees

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The agency is offering buyouts to all federal employees who don't want to come back to the office in an effort to significantly shrink the federal workforce.

The offer, outlined in a memo emailed to employees on Tuesday by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, is for federal workers to receive eight months of pay and benefits through September in exchange for their resignation by February 6.

If you decide not to continue in your current federal position, we appreciate your service to your country and will ensure a respectful and fair departure process through the government's employee resignation program.

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Recently, an order was signed that mandates federal employees to return to in-person work. Although some federal workers still have the option to work from home as a result of COVID-19 pandemic policies.

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It remains unclear at this time what the costs of the voluntary buyout program will be to the government or how many employees are likely to take part.

The federal government employs roughly 2 million people.

Virginia Senator Tim Kaine questioned the Trump administration's authority to offer Buyouts to all government employees. Speaking on the Senate floor, he noted that employees who accept the settlement might end up not being paid.

Do not be naive," Kaine said. "He has cheated hundreds of people with that proposal. If you accept that proposal and resign, he will rip you off just like he's done with the contractors. He doesn't have the power to make that decision.

Federal guidelines allow severance pay only for employees who have been working for at least 12 months continuously and were not terminated for performance or conduct issues.

According to a memo from Charles Ezell, acting director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, employees who accept the buyout offer should "promptly have their duties re-assigned or eliminated and be placed on paid administrative leave until the end of the deferred resignation period."

Despite the fact that more Americans depend on government services than ever before, the size of the federal workforce remains roughly the same as it was in 1970.

"Removing dedicated career federal employees will have far-reaching, unforeseen effects, which will create chaos for Americans who rely on a functioning federal government," AFGE National President Everett Kelley said in a statement.

This offer should not be seen as optional," Kelley said. "Among the flurry of anti-worker executive orders and policies, it's obvious that the Trump administration is actively trying to make the federal government a hostile workplace where employees cannot stay even if they want to.

Since Trump's inauguration last week, he has also gone after federal workers whose administration views as opposing its goals. That includes dismissing Justice Department lawyers who worked on special counsel Jack Smith's Trump investigations, and putting dozens of top career employees of the U.S. Agency for International Development on leave.

There are approximately 2 million employees working for the federal government. The workforce is predominantly made up of career federal employees who tend to lean to the left and have liberal views," Stephens Miller, a policy advisor to the White House, said to CNN on Tuesday. "The American public elected Donald Trump to bring about significant changes.

This article has been updated to include additional data.

Contact Joey Garrison at X via Twitter @joeygarrison.

President Donald Trump is offering eight-month buyouts to all federal employees.