Federal employees shocked by Trump's 'buyout' proposal: 'This is the last lifeboat in town'
An employee expressed a profound sense of doubt, particularly among those who feel they might be at risk, stating, “There’s also a deep suspicion, especially among people who think they may be on the chopping block, that this is the last lifeboat in town.”
TroibNews 
A federal workforce of about 2 million individuals is grappling with the implications of a mass email that provided them the opportunity to resign proactively in advance of unclear and unspecified initiatives by the Trump administration aimed at downsizing the government.
The details of this ambiguous ultimatum remain vague and may be open to legal scrutiny and dispute. As a result, many federal employees—potentially hundreds of thousands—are facing uncertainty regarding their employment and the future of their respective agencies.
“Chaos, mistrust, confusion,” commented a Department of Justice employee who requested anonymity to discuss the situation openly. “There’s also a deep suspicion, especially among people who think they may be on the chopping block, that this is the last lifeboat in town.”
Former President Trump, known for his critiques of the “deep state,” has long sought to diminish the size of the federal government. Discontented with perceived leniency in remote work policies nearly five years post-COVID-19 outbreak, he has enlisted Tesla CEO Elon Musk to facilitate government streamlining. Yet this vague directive threatens to paralyze the extensive bureaucracy and could inadvertently spark a political crisis.
“The blanket approach, which is pure Elon Musk, is going to have unintended consequences down the road,” observed Elaine Kamarck, a Brookings Institution fellow who previously directed government reform under President Bill Clinton in the 1990s. “What if a third of the nation’s air traffic controllers take this buyout? Or all the CDC scientists leave for the private sector and then there’s a tuberculosis epidemic? That’s the risk with the way they’ve done it, sort of using a blowtorch for a very small issue.”
On Tuesday evening, the Office of Personnel Management distributed an email offering workers the option to resign with pay through September but left future employment guarantees undefined for those who chose to remain. Although the message lacked a signature, many federal workers speculated it bore Musk’s influence, reminiscent of his aggressive policies following his takeover of Twitter.
The subject line mirrored a previous message Musk sent to Twitter staff in 2022, which posed a similar ultimatum: “Fork in the road.”
This missive showcased Musk’s intention to drastically revamp federal operations, indicating that his involvement may perhaps stretch beyond the newly established “Department of Government Efficiency.” As with his Twitter approach, Musk is accelerating changes during the early days of Trump’s administration, which has only compounded the turmoil within a federal workforce already destabilized by controversial executive orders aimed at freezing domestic and foreign aid.
“It’s unfathomable, the panic that it is causing throughout the government,” said another DOJ employee. “And it is intentional. The new head of OMB [Russ Vought, who has not yet been confirmed by the Senate] said he wanted to traumatize the federal civil servants into leaving and it’s working.”
Tim Whitehouse, executive director of the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, a nonprofit assisting federal workers with legal issues, has been inundated with inquiries regarding the resignation offer since it surfaced.
“The employees we are speaking to view this email as another tool to inflict pain and trauma on the federal government workforce,” Whitehouse noted in an email. “They understand this is not really a buyout, that it may be illegal, and that it does not guarantee that they will be able to stop work before September 30th. Because of the number of agencies and employees targeted, it shows the administration’s blow it all up approach to reducing the size of the federal workforce.”
On Wednesday, federal worker unions rallied to discourage members from accepting the offer, labeling it an underhanded strategy to intimidate employees into leaving voluntarily. Steve Lenkart, executive director of the National Federation of Federal Employees, stated that most members “don’t trust this administration to hold up their end of the bargain, and others don’t see how this is legal.”
The American Federation of Government Employees sent a comprehensive FAQ about the OPM resignation program to its members, cautioning that it “should not [be taken] … at face value.”
When the email was dispatched Tuesday night, it was sent to such a large group that it arrived in waves. As employees began text exchanges, some were initially unaware of the uproar until they received the OPM email themselves.
Within the DOJ, the assistant attorney general for administration quickly sent an email affirming the authenticity of the OPM ultimatum. However, managers faced with a barrage of queries had scant information to provide.
This left employees to decipher news reports discussing the resignation “buyouts” and probe the email’s phrasing, which stated that those opting to remain were committing to be part of “an improved federal workforce,” despite the email explicitly stating they could still be terminated.
“We cannot give you full assurance regarding the certainty of your position or agency,” asserted the email, which did reassure employees they would be “treated with dignity” in the event of termination.
The alternative was a “deferred resignation program,” available for the next week, requiring employees to respond to the email with “Resign.” This option would allow them “to retain all pay and benefits regardless of your daily workload and … be exempted from all applicable in-person work requirements until Sept. 30.”
“It really felt like we were being asked to resign, and, if we decided not to resign, like we were being asked to swear allegiance to a new form of government,” remarked another DOJ employee. “It seems very clear that if we do not take that and resign, that our jobs are in serious jeopardy.”
As a single parent, this employee was torn between the prospect of walking away from a decades-long career that they considered meaningful and ensuring financial security for their family.
“I am not a risk taker,” they stated. “And every single option right now is a risk.”
A third DOJ employee noted that what initially appeared to be a welcome offer of severance for those already planning to exit quickly morphed into heightened skepticism and the realization that things were likely more complicated than they appeared.
“Everyone else is like, ‘I don’t trust them,’” the third employee shared. They added that the email “doesn’t seem real, there’s no guidance. It seems like it will be challenged. So it comes down to: Are you really willing to go to the casino and put your career on black?”
Regarding the OPM email’s suggestion of providing a “dignified” option, the third employee remarked, “makes it seem like a warning that there will be an undignified action coming for those who don’t take it.” The timing of the email also intensified anxiety about the administration’s intent to implement the Project 2025 blueprint for a significantly reduced federal workforce.
“It feels like there is enough chaos and there is an implied malice behind the chaos, and that makes it very difficult to plan your next step,” the third DOJ employee commented.
All three DOJ employees expressed concerns that their agency—and thus their jobs—might be especially vulnerable compared to other executive branch entities due to Trump’s dissatisfaction with ongoing investigations into his conduct.
This sense of panic has not been unique to DOJ.
“It was the batshit-craziest email I’ve ever read,” remarked an EPA employee. “These people have a history of shorting workers,” they added. “There’s no way I’m sending ‘Resign’ to this jinky email address.”
A USAID employee summarized the atmosphere in their office as a forced return to work accompanied by “a lot more fear and uncertainty,” noting an increased interest in unions among federal employees.
“It’s not really a buyout, but it’s clearly part of this shock-and-awe approach to cajole and scare federal workers into thinking of quitting,” stated an official from the State Department.
At FEMA, one employee noted that their team was intent on remaining to support essential emergency response efforts. “Most people saw [the OPM email] as a scam,” they said. “Everybody’s very frustrated, very stressed — it’s hard not to be alarmist when you don’t know if your pension and retirement are at risk. But we’re just trying to take it day by day.”
Another Labor Department employee echoed these frustrations, expressing skepticism that the compensation would exceed the $25,000 annual severance limit established under OPM regulations.
“I find it hard to believe they would pay me my full salary for 8 months to sit on my ass,” the Labor Department employee remarked. “The whole thing is pretty insulting. But also, no choice we have is good! Some [people] are like ‘is it better to have some control over my fate with a set end date?’ And others are like ‘I will die before I give them the satisfaction.’”
For now, that DOL employee has no plans to accept the resignation offer. “I’d rather be fired for resisting and making their lives hell,” they stated.
A number of federal employees have also shared their sentiments anonymously on Reddit and other forums.
“[B]efore that email went out, I was looking for any way to get out of this fresh hell,” one employee posted on Reddit. “But now I am fired up to make these goons as frustrated as possible, [return to office] be damned.”
Another participant echoed that sentiment: “I was chill and laid back prior. Now I’m digging my heels in out of spite.”
Marcia Brown, Ben Lefebvre, Nick Niedzwiadek, Robbie Gramer, Kevin Bogardus, and Robin Bravender contributed to this report.
Lucas Dupont contributed to this report for TROIB News
The details of this ambiguous ultimatum remain vague and may be open to legal scrutiny and dispute. As a result, many federal employees—potentially hundreds of thousands—are facing uncertainty regarding their employment and the future of their respective agencies.
“Chaos, mistrust, confusion,” commented a Department of Justice employee who requested anonymity to discuss the situation openly. “There’s also a deep suspicion, especially among people who think they may be on the chopping block, that this is the last lifeboat in town.”
Former President Trump, known for his critiques of the “deep state,” has long sought to diminish the size of the federal government. Discontented with perceived leniency in remote work policies nearly five years post-COVID-19 outbreak, he has enlisted Tesla CEO Elon Musk to facilitate government streamlining. Yet this vague directive threatens to paralyze the extensive bureaucracy and could inadvertently spark a political crisis.
“The blanket approach, which is pure Elon Musk, is going to have unintended consequences down the road,” observed Elaine Kamarck, a Brookings Institution fellow who previously directed government reform under President Bill Clinton in the 1990s. “What if a third of the nation’s air traffic controllers take this buyout? Or all the CDC scientists leave for the private sector and then there’s a tuberculosis epidemic? That’s the risk with the way they’ve done it, sort of using a blowtorch for a very small issue.”
On Tuesday evening, the Office of Personnel Management distributed an email offering workers the option to resign with pay through September but left future employment guarantees undefined for those who chose to remain. Although the message lacked a signature, many federal workers speculated it bore Musk’s influence, reminiscent of his aggressive policies following his takeover of Twitter.
The subject line mirrored a previous message Musk sent to Twitter staff in 2022, which posed a similar ultimatum: “Fork in the road.”
This missive showcased Musk’s intention to drastically revamp federal operations, indicating that his involvement may perhaps stretch beyond the newly established “Department of Government Efficiency.” As with his Twitter approach, Musk is accelerating changes during the early days of Trump’s administration, which has only compounded the turmoil within a federal workforce already destabilized by controversial executive orders aimed at freezing domestic and foreign aid.
“It’s unfathomable, the panic that it is causing throughout the government,” said another DOJ employee. “And it is intentional. The new head of OMB [Russ Vought, who has not yet been confirmed by the Senate] said he wanted to traumatize the federal civil servants into leaving and it’s working.”
Tim Whitehouse, executive director of the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, a nonprofit assisting federal workers with legal issues, has been inundated with inquiries regarding the resignation offer since it surfaced.
“The employees we are speaking to view this email as another tool to inflict pain and trauma on the federal government workforce,” Whitehouse noted in an email. “They understand this is not really a buyout, that it may be illegal, and that it does not guarantee that they will be able to stop work before September 30th. Because of the number of agencies and employees targeted, it shows the administration’s blow it all up approach to reducing the size of the federal workforce.”
On Wednesday, federal worker unions rallied to discourage members from accepting the offer, labeling it an underhanded strategy to intimidate employees into leaving voluntarily. Steve Lenkart, executive director of the National Federation of Federal Employees, stated that most members “don’t trust this administration to hold up their end of the bargain, and others don’t see how this is legal.”
The American Federation of Government Employees sent a comprehensive FAQ about the OPM resignation program to its members, cautioning that it “should not [be taken] … at face value.”
When the email was dispatched Tuesday night, it was sent to such a large group that it arrived in waves. As employees began text exchanges, some were initially unaware of the uproar until they received the OPM email themselves.
Within the DOJ, the assistant attorney general for administration quickly sent an email affirming the authenticity of the OPM ultimatum. However, managers faced with a barrage of queries had scant information to provide.
This left employees to decipher news reports discussing the resignation “buyouts” and probe the email’s phrasing, which stated that those opting to remain were committing to be part of “an improved federal workforce,” despite the email explicitly stating they could still be terminated.
“We cannot give you full assurance regarding the certainty of your position or agency,” asserted the email, which did reassure employees they would be “treated with dignity” in the event of termination.
The alternative was a “deferred resignation program,” available for the next week, requiring employees to respond to the email with “Resign.” This option would allow them “to retain all pay and benefits regardless of your daily workload and … be exempted from all applicable in-person work requirements until Sept. 30.”
“It really felt like we were being asked to resign, and, if we decided not to resign, like we were being asked to swear allegiance to a new form of government,” remarked another DOJ employee. “It seems very clear that if we do not take that and resign, that our jobs are in serious jeopardy.”
As a single parent, this employee was torn between the prospect of walking away from a decades-long career that they considered meaningful and ensuring financial security for their family.
“I am not a risk taker,” they stated. “And every single option right now is a risk.”
A third DOJ employee noted that what initially appeared to be a welcome offer of severance for those already planning to exit quickly morphed into heightened skepticism and the realization that things were likely more complicated than they appeared.
“Everyone else is like, ‘I don’t trust them,’” the third employee shared. They added that the email “doesn’t seem real, there’s no guidance. It seems like it will be challenged. So it comes down to: Are you really willing to go to the casino and put your career on black?”
Regarding the OPM email’s suggestion of providing a “dignified” option, the third employee remarked, “makes it seem like a warning that there will be an undignified action coming for those who don’t take it.” The timing of the email also intensified anxiety about the administration’s intent to implement the Project 2025 blueprint for a significantly reduced federal workforce.
“It feels like there is enough chaos and there is an implied malice behind the chaos, and that makes it very difficult to plan your next step,” the third DOJ employee commented.
All three DOJ employees expressed concerns that their agency—and thus their jobs—might be especially vulnerable compared to other executive branch entities due to Trump’s dissatisfaction with ongoing investigations into his conduct.
This sense of panic has not been unique to DOJ.
“It was the batshit-craziest email I’ve ever read,” remarked an EPA employee. “These people have a history of shorting workers,” they added. “There’s no way I’m sending ‘Resign’ to this jinky email address.”
A USAID employee summarized the atmosphere in their office as a forced return to work accompanied by “a lot more fear and uncertainty,” noting an increased interest in unions among federal employees.
“It’s not really a buyout, but it’s clearly part of this shock-and-awe approach to cajole and scare federal workers into thinking of quitting,” stated an official from the State Department.
At FEMA, one employee noted that their team was intent on remaining to support essential emergency response efforts. “Most people saw [the OPM email] as a scam,” they said. “Everybody’s very frustrated, very stressed — it’s hard not to be alarmist when you don’t know if your pension and retirement are at risk. But we’re just trying to take it day by day.”
Another Labor Department employee echoed these frustrations, expressing skepticism that the compensation would exceed the $25,000 annual severance limit established under OPM regulations.
“I find it hard to believe they would pay me my full salary for 8 months to sit on my ass,” the Labor Department employee remarked. “The whole thing is pretty insulting. But also, no choice we have is good! Some [people] are like ‘is it better to have some control over my fate with a set end date?’ And others are like ‘I will die before I give them the satisfaction.’”
For now, that DOL employee has no plans to accept the resignation offer. “I’d rather be fired for resisting and making their lives hell,” they stated.
A number of federal employees have also shared their sentiments anonymously on Reddit and other forums.
“[B]efore that email went out, I was looking for any way to get out of this fresh hell,” one employee posted on Reddit. “But now I am fired up to make these goons as frustrated as possible, [return to office] be damned.”
Another participant echoed that sentiment: “I was chill and laid back prior. Now I’m digging my heels in out of spite.”
Marcia Brown, Ben Lefebvre, Nick Niedzwiadek, Robbie Gramer, Kevin Bogardus, and Robin Bravender contributed to this report.
Lucas Dupont contributed to this report for TROIB News
