By Molly Goddard
8:03am PST, Jan 29, 2025
Now through February 6, the Trump administration is offering "deferred resignation" to staffers who don't want to stop the work from home model put in place during the
COVID-19 pandemic.
If they choose to leave their current job, they will receive their regular pay and benefits through September 30, 2025. A senior administration official told
NBC News the move could save the government $100 billion as they expect 5 to 10 percent of the federal workforce to quit.
"This email is being sent to more than TWO MILLION federal employees,"
Katie Miller — who serves on an advisory board to the Department of Government Efficiency — penned on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"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 stated.
If they want to quit, the worker will simply reply "resign" to the message.
"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," the note read.
White House press secretary
Karoline Leavitt told
NBC News if federal workers "don't want to work in the office and contribute to making
America great again, then they are free to choose a different line of work and the Trump Administration will provide a very generous payout of eight months."
The American Federation of Government Employees fired back at the drastic move. "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," AFGE National President
Everett Kelley said in a statement.
"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," they emphasized.
Per the email, the new policy and buyout does not apply to military personnel, U.S. Postal Service workers, roles related to immigration enforcement and national security, as well as "any other positions specifically excluded by your employing agency."
As to why they made the tempting offer, a senior administration official said it was to "make sure that all federal workers are on board with the new administration's plan to have federal employees in
office and adhering to higher standards."
"We're five years past COVID and just six percent of federal employees work full-time in office. That is unacceptable," they claimed.
Leavitt clarified Trump's reasoning for forcing people back into the office. "American taxpayers pay for the salaries of federal government employees and therefore deserve employees working on their behalf who actually show up to work in our wonderful
federal buildings, also paid for by taxpayers," she explained.
However, not all staffers are upset by the move. "The gravy train is coming to an end for a lot of freeloaders," one government worker told
The New York Post via text message.
Elon Musk — who is currently in charge of
The Apprentice alum's new Department of Government Efficiency — sent out a similar memo to employees at his companies in 2022. However, it's unconfirmed whether or not he was behind the decision.
Interestingly, the subject line of the message sent out by the Telsa founder to his workers read: "A Fork in the Road." The heading of the Trump administration's message was reportedly identical.
