{"id":2399434,"date":"2025-02-05T18:39:59","date_gmt":"2025-02-05T23:39:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/federal-workers-face-buyout-deadline-as-musk-dismantles-agencies-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2025-02-05T18:44:13","modified_gmt":"2025-02-05T23:44:13","slug":"federal-workers-face-buyout-deadline-as-musk-dismantles-agencies-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/federal-workers-face-buyout-deadline-as-musk-dismantles-agencies-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Federal workers face buyout deadline as Musk dismantles agencies &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ffederal-workers-face-buyout-deadline-as-musk-dismantles-agencies-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2399434&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses the looming \u200cdeadline for\u200d federal workers\u200c considering a resignation offer\u2064 from\u200b the Trump governance amid \u2064meaningful \u200drestructuring efforts that\u2064 involve Elon Musk&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/disney-fired-beijing-staff-just-before-gop-china-hawk-questioned-ceo-report\/\" title=\"Disney fired Beijing staff shortly before a GOP China hawk questioned the CEO, according to a report.\">cost-cutting \u2062measures<\/a>. As the deadline approaches, \u200dthe administration expects\u200d a surge\u200b in resignations, despite Democratic\u2064 leaders and union representatives advising \u2064employees to resist these offers. <\/p>\n<p>The\u200c resignation option, referred\u200c to as a &#8220;buyout,&#8221; aims to reduce \u200cthe\u2063 federal workforce significantly, \u200bwith claims that \u2064up to\u2063 20,000 federal \u200bworkers might \u200btake this path. Union representatives warn that mass resignations could\u200c harm \u200dthe federal government&#8217;s capabilities, jeopardizing essential \u2062services and expertise.They have initiated legal action to block the program, emphasizing the importance of avoiding a politically\u2064 driven purge \u2064of nonpartisan \u200bcivil service employees.<\/p>\n<p>Amidst the chaos,federal employees are torn\u200b between the uncertainty of staying in their roles \u2063under Trump&#8217;s executive order that mandates a return to in-office \u2064work and the\u2062 perceived risks of \u2062accepting the\u200b resignation offer.\u200c Union \u200bleaders continue to caution members about \u2064potential legal implications \u2062and the\u2063 lack of guarantees tied to the\u2063 resignation program. <\/p>\n<p>In response to the backlash, the Office of Personnel\u2063 Management \u200d(OPM) defended the offer, labeling it a generous prospect\u2064 for employees to navigate the restructuring\u2063 process. As the situation develops, \u200cit\u200d underscores the tensions\u2063 between government policies, employee rights, and the future of federal employment under the Trump administration.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Federal workers face resignation offer deadline as Musk continues dismantling of agencies<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1976075\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Donald Trump<\/a>&lsquo;s administration is expecting a rush of federal workers to take its resignation offer in the final hours despite <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/democrats\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Democrats<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">union leaders telling civil servants<\/a> to resist.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>The White House rejected a report that a mere <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2025\/02\/04\/trump-buyout-federal-workers-20000\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">20,000 federal workers<\/a>&nbsp;had taken the early exit option put forth as part of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/elon-musk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Elon Musk<\/a>&lsquo;s cost-cutting plan to drastically reduce the size of the federal government.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, a source familiar with the figures suggested the initial paring back of 5-10% of the workforce could be achieved before the 11:59 p.m. deadline Thursday, arguing the pace was rapidly picking up. <\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3292730\/all-executive-orders-actions-trump-first-day\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">FULL LIST OF EXECUTIVE ORDERS, ACTIONS, AND PROCLAMATIONS TRUMP HAS MADE AS PRESIDENT<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>As the clock ticks, some of the 2.3 million federal workers describe uncertainty in Trump&rsquo;s new Washington where he&rsquo;s turned over access to federal financial systems to Musk, effectively shuttered at least one agency in USAID, and sent Department of Government Efficiency workers to other offices to root out waste, fraud, and abuse.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m incredibly concerned about what&rsquo;s happening with federal employees,&rdquo; Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA) told the&nbsp;<em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. &ldquo;First of all, it&rsquo;s blatantly illegal. But second of all, they provide very important functions and tasks for the American people, like getting Social Security checks out, like making sure Head Start gets funded, and we need the American people need those things to continue.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The confusion around Musk&rsquo;s efforts to trim federal spending has led to an air of fear for federal workers, many of whom are still debating the resignation offer but worry that the lack of legality could leave them without a job or funding in the future.<\/p>\n<p>Workers who decide to follow the advice of Democrats and keep their government jobs will be subjected to Trump&rsquo;s executive order demanding employees return to the office five days a week, upending five years of COVID-era, family-friendly telework options and adding rising anxiety to the workforce.<\/p>\n<p>Yet drastic actions could be implemented if not enough employees take the voluntary resignation offer. <\/p>\n<p>Erv Koehler, assistant commissioner of general supplies and services at the General Services Administration, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/2025\/02\/04\/federal-government-layoffs-likely-memo\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">reportedly warned<\/a> the workforce in a memo that layoffs, or &ldquo;Reductions in Force,&rdquo; are &ldquo;likely&rdquo; if the Trump administration&rsquo;s target goal isn&rsquo;t reached. <\/p>\n<p>Koehler did not respond to a <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> request for comment. <\/p>\n<p>The resignation offer, first announced in a Jan. 28 &ldquo;Fork in the Road,&rdquo; mass email, has met fierce pushback from Democrats and labor unions.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">&#128680; We urge all AFGE members and federal employees NOT to resign from your position before reviewing our guidance. <\/p>\n<p>Read at <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/zBa9myhvvV\">https:\/\/t.co\/zBa9myhvvV<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/R2F9WL7khB\">pic.twitter.com\/R2F9WL7khB<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; AFGE (@AFGENational) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AFGENational\/status\/1884704475752915357?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 29, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script> <\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO,&nbsp;the&nbsp;American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, and the National Association of Government Employees <a href=\"https:\/\/democracyforward.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/AFGE-AFLCIO-Fork-2.4.25.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">sued<\/a> the Office of Personnel Management and Charles Ezell, the acting director of OPM, on Tuesday to halt the program.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;If these employees leave or are forced out en masse, the country will suffer a dangerous one-two punch,&rdquo; the unions claimed in the lawsuit. &ldquo;First, the government will lose expertise in the complex fields and programs that Congress has, by statute, directed the Executive to faithfully implement. And second, when vacant positions become politicized, as this Administration seeks to do, partisanship is elevated over ability and truth, to the detriment of agency missions and the American people.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>One day after their lawsuit, the unions <a href=\"https:\/\/democracyforward.org\/updates\/fork-directive-tro\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">asked a federal court<\/a> to pause and extend the buyout before the Feb. 6 deadline and requested the court hold a hearing no later than Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>Similarly, Democrats on the House Oversight and Reform Committee wrote to Trump demanding the buyout be halted. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We strongly oppose and condemn your efforts to purge our nation&rsquo;s nonpartisan civil<br \/>service by coercing federal employees into mass resignations,&rdquo; Democrats <a href=\"https:\/\/oversightdemocrats.house.gov\/sites\/evo-subsites\/democrats-oversight.house.gov\/files\/evo-media-document\/2025-02-03.%20GEC%20et%20al%20to%20Trump%20Re.%20Fork%20In%20the%20Road.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">wrote<\/a>. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Protests near the Capitol on Feb 5, 2025. (Graeme Jennings\/Washington Examiner)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Twelve Democratic attorneys general including Letitia James&nbsp;of New York issued a warning to federal workers against taking the offer.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;President Trump&rsquo;s so<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/federal-workers-choosing-deferred-resignations-below-white-house-goals\/\" title=\"... choosing deferred ...s below White House goals\">-called buyout offers<\/a> are nothing more than the latest attack on federal workers and the services they provide,&rdquo; James said <a href=\"https:\/\/ag.ny.gov\/press-release\/2025\/attorney-general-james-and-eleven-attorneys-general-warn-federal-employees-about\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">in a statement<\/a>. &ldquo;These supposed offers are not guaranteed. Federal employees should be cautious and follow the guidance of their unions to protect their rights.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>However, OPM <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3308696\/trump-administration-reassure-federal-employees-resignation-offer-real\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"rejected\">rejected<\/a> the criticism from the unions and Democrats in a statement to the <em>Washington Examiner. <\/em><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Union leaders and politicians telling federal workers to reject this offer are doing them a serious disservice. This is a rare, generous opportunity&mdash;one that was thoroughly vetted and intentionally designed to support employees through restructuring,&rdquo; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3308696\/trump-administration-reassure-federal-employees-resignation-offer-real\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"said\">said<\/a> McLaurine Pinover, spokesperson for OPM. &ldquo;Instead of spreading misinformation and using workers as political pawns, they should be making sure federal employees have the facts and freedom to make the best decision for themselves and their families.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Federal workers were also sent a second email about the program offering a sample resignation contract this week. A source familiar claimed the contract is legally binding for employers who accept the offer. They would also be put on administration leave by March 1.<\/p>\n<p>Ezell, the acting director of OPM, also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chcoc.gov\/content\/legality-deferred-resignation-program\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">clarified in a memo<\/a> sent out on Tuesday that the offer was legally binding but &ldquo;were the government to backtrack on its commitments, an employee would be entitled to request a rescission of his or her resignation.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>In response to House Democrats who claimed it violates the Anti-Deficiency Act, which prevents Congress from spending more funds than has been appropriated, he also claimed the resignation program did not require congressional approval.<\/p>\n<p>But if the government were to partially or completely shut down after March 14, &ldquo;payments to all affected employees (regardless of whether they accepted the deferred resignation offer) would be temporarily paused&rdquo; the memo states. They would later receive retroactive pay once the government is up and running.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The breakneck speed to reduce the government workforce was previously signaled by Russell Vought, Trump&rsquo;s nominee to head the White House budget office, in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/video-donald-trump-russ-vought-center-renewing-america-maga\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">past comments<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We want the bureaucrats to be traumatically affected,&rdquo; Vought said. &ldquo;When they wake up in the morning, we want them to not want to go to work because they are increasingly viewed as the villains. We want their funding to be shut down so that the EPA can&rsquo;t do all of the rules against our energy industry because they have no bandwidth financially to do so.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1976075\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1976075\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Federal workers face a resignation deadline as Trump\u2019s administration anticipates a surge in resignations, despite opposition from Democrats and unions<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3663,"featured_media":2399435,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/musk-inauguraiton.-.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[49898,49897,48942,4250],"class_list":["post-2399434","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-agency-dismantling","tag-buyout-deadline","tag-federal-workers","tag-musk"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/musk-inauguraiton.-.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2399434","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3663"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2399434"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2399434\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2399438,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2399434\/revisions\/2399438"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2399435"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2399434"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2399434"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2399434"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}