The Trump administration revealed on Tuesday a drastic initiative to downsize the federal workforce, offering financial incentives to employees who voluntarily resign by next week. This sweeping measure aims to rapidly reduce the size of the U.S. government at an unprecedented pace.
A directive from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which handles human resources for federal employees, stated that all government workers would soon be held to “enhanced standards of suitability and conduct.” The message also hinted at more reductions ahead. In an email sent to employees, the administration outlined the buyout terms: those who agree to step down will receive approximately seven months’ salary, but they must finalize their decision by February 6.
Donald Trump, who has built his political brand on upending Washington’s status quo, has pledged that his second term will push those efforts even further than before. However, the impact of so many government employees being encouraged to leave their positions remains difficult to measure.
With more than 3 million people on its payroll, the federal government ranks as the 15th largest employer in the country. An analysis of OPM data conducted by the Pew Research Center found that the average length of service for a federal worker is close to 12 years.
If even a small percentage of employees take the buyout, the effects could ripple through the economy, leading to major disruptions in essential services. The potential consequences are far-reaching and largely unpredictable, affecting the speed, efficiency, and availability of government programs nationwide.
A mass departure could mean a shortage of crucial personnel, including healthcare providers in Veterans Affairs hospitals, officials responsible for processing home and small business loans, and defense contractors working on military technology. The loss of experienced food safety inspectors, scientists monitoring water quality, and regulators overseeing transportation and consumer protections could further strain federal operations.
Reacting to the announcement, Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees union, argued that the initiative was less about voluntary resignations and more about pressuring staffers who are not aligned with the administration to vacate their positions.
“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,” 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.”
In the OPM email outlining the initiative, four new workforce policies were introduced, which the agency said reflect Trump’s directives for federal employees. One major change requires the majority of workers to return to in-person work.
“The substantial majority of federal employees who have been working remotely since Covid will be required to return to their physical offices five days a week,” the memo states. This aligns with Trump’s recent remarks about federal employees, in which he declared: “You have to go to your office and work. Otherwise you’re not going to have a job.”
The document further asserts that Trump’s administration “will insist on excellence at every level,” and while some areas of government may see hiring increases, “The majority of federal agencies are likely to be downsized.”
Additionally, the administration’s stance is that “the federal workforce should be comprised of employees who are reliable, loyal, trustworthy, and who strive for excellence in their daily work.”
“Employees will be subject to enhanced standards of suitability and conduct as we move forward,” the memo continues. “Employees who engage in unlawful behavior or other misconduct will be prioritized for appropriate investigation and discipline, including termination.”
The email also includes a formal resignation template for those interested in the buyout offer.
“If you resign under this program, you will retain all pay and benefits regardless of your daily workload and will be exempted from all applicable in-person work requirements until September 30,” the message states.
Employees who wish to accept are given simple instructions: “If you wish to resign: Select ‘Reply’ to this email. You must reply from your government account.” The email further directs, “Type the word ‘Resign’ into the body of this email and hit ‘send.’”
Meanwhile, OPM has issued new guidelines following an executive order Trump signed on his first day back in office, titled “Schedule Career/Policy.” This replaces “Schedule F,” a controversial policy Trump attempted to implement at the end of his first term, which sought to reclassify thousands of federal employees as political appointees, stripping them of traditional job protections.
President Joe Biden immediately revoked Schedule F upon taking office in 2021. Under his leadership, OPM later established rules making it more difficult to dismiss career government workers, aiming to shield them from politically motivated firings.
That effort was seen as a way to block the implementation of policies like those in Project 2025, a conservative think tank’s plan that envisions reducing the federal workforce and replacing many employees with individuals more aligned with right-wing policy goals.
Nevertheless, the Trump administration is pressing ahead with its effort to overhaul the government workforce, limiting employees’ ability to contest job reassignments or terminations.
On Monday, Trump’s OPM set deadlines for agencies to begin the process of recommending employees for reclassification. Leaders of each federal agency must designate a point of contact by Wednesday and start submitting preliminary recommendations within the next 90 days.
“Agencies are encouraged to submit recommendations on a rolling basis before this date,” Charles Ezell, the acting OPM director, noted in a memo.
Perhaps most significantly, Trump’s personnel office has taken the extraordinary step of disregarding the Biden administration’s 2024 rule designed to strengthen job protections for federal employees. According to the OPM memo issued Monday, Trump’s new executive order overrides those regulations entirely.
Monday’s document states that Trump’s directive relied on “the president’s authority ‘to directly nullify these regulations.'”
{Matzav.com}