A woman walks down the stairs in front of the U.S. Capitol building, ahead of the presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, in Washington on Jan. 15, 2025.
Marko Djurica | Reuters
The Trump administration is offering millions of federal workers the option to accept buyouts through a government-wide “deferred resignation” program if they resign by Feb. 6.
Those who accept the offer will receive pay and benefits through Sept. 30, according to a draft email obtained Tuesday by NBC News.
The sweeping buyouts are being offered 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,” a senior administration official told NBC on condition of anonymity.
“We’re five years past COVID and just 6 percent of federal employees work full-time in office. That is unacceptable,” the official said, citing a report from Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, who co-chairs the congressional DOGE caucus.
The White House expects up to 10% of federal employees to take the buyout, the official said.
The emails will be sent starting Tuesday afternoon, NBC reported.
Buyouts are being offered to all full-time federal employees except military personnel, U.S. Postal Service workers, roles related to immigration enforcement and national security, and “any other positions specifically excluded by your employing agency,” the emails will say, according to NBC.
The offers come as President Donald Trump’s administration pushes federal employees to return to the office five days per week, scrapping work-from-home allowances implemented during the coronavirus pandemic.
Trump signed an order on his first day in office directing all executive branch agencies to end remote work rules.
The administration, which has promised massive cuts to purported government waste, is also signaling that most federal agencies will likely be downsized through restructurings and headcount reductions.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told NBC in a statement that 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 8 months.”
To accept the buyout, federal employees simply have to reply to the email with the word “Resign,” the emails reportedly instruct.
The federal labor union the American Federation of Government Employees quickly criticized the Trump administration’s buyout plans.
“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 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,” the group said.