The number of workers who have decided to accept the buyout offer from the Trump administration has risen by about 25,000, according to a White House official, with some 65,000 government employees now having signed up for the offer.
That was up from more than 20,000 on Feb. 4 and more than 40,000 on Thursday morning.
As Zachary Stieber reports for The Epoch Times, the buyout offer is a deferred resignation that pays workers until Sept. 30.
One worker, based in the Pacific Northwest, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that she took the offer on Thursday. She hopes to use the opportunity to move overseas but said that even if the money never comes, she still wants out. She says she is unwilling to comply with the new administration’s policies, including the elimination of diversity initiatives, and worries that the situation will only get worse for people who stay.
After entering office in January, President Donald Trump ordered federal employees back to the office and directed officials to impose stricter performance standards.
The Trump administration says that those and other changes mean that the majority of federal agencies will likely see a reduction in employees.
“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. 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,” a message from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management told government workers.
“If you choose not to continue in your current role in the federal workforce, we thank you for your service to your country and you will be provided with a dignified, fair departure from the federal government utilizing a deferred resignation program.”
Workers could start resigning on Jan. 28. The original deadline was Feb. 6, but a judge ordered the government to push it back until Feb. 10.
One worker, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the judge’s decision bolstered suspicions that the deferred resignation program was legally questionable.
The new deadline is Monday, Feb. 10, at 11:59 p.m. ET, the government told workers in a letter after the order was handed down.
“Should you wish to pursue Deferred Resignation please reply to this email from your government email with the word ’resign,'” the email reads.
A hearing will take place that day in a case brought by unions that could result in the deadline being delayed further.
Unions said in court filings that they don’t know whether the government can honor the buyout offer since congressional appropriations don’t currently run until the fall. They said the offer is illegal because it’s arbitrary and capricious in part due to “run[ning] counter to long-standing rules and requirements for federal employees.”
Government lawyers said in response that the offer is legal because it is, rather than being a final agency action, “a matter of pure internal governmental administration and, in all events, imposes no legal right or obligation on anyone, let alone Plaintiffs.”