Millions 'wait and watch' as 65,000+ workers take Trump's 'buyout' offer

Washington, DC — Like millions of other federal government staffers, Emily faces a big decision at work and is struggling to make a quick choice.

Ahead of Monday's extended deadline, she has to either resign from her job with guaranteed pay through September 30 or face possible termination, part of an unprecedented programme pushed by President Donald Trump's administration and led by one of his top advisers, billionaire Elon Musk though his Department of Government Efficiency.

"I am waiting and watching. Some colleagues who planned to quit have already taken the offer, but many are reluctant," she told TRT World.

Another federal employee, Rubel, told TRT World that some of his colleagues "at the verge of retirement" have accepted Trump's offer but many have opted "to wait" and see if the courts and unions representing more than 800,000 federal workers are effective in their effort to cancel the programme.

Over 65,000 federal workers, which is more than three percent of the workforce, have accepted buyout offers from President Trump, according to the White House.

Both employees spoke with TRT World on the condition they are identified by their pseudonyms only.

It was on January 28 when the Trump administration offered some 2.3 million federal workers the opportunity to resign from their posts and retain full pay and perks through September 30.

The "Fork in the Road" email sent via the US Office of Personnel Management (or OPM) gave employees until February 6 to accept the deal. In compliance with an order issued by the District Court of Massachusetts, the administration extended the deadline to Monday, February 10, at 11:59 pm ET.

Trump's "buyout offer" or "deferred resignation" programme is available to all full-time federal employees except for military personnel of the armed forces, US Postal Service employees, those in positions related to immigration enforcement, national security and public safety.

"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," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement then.

"If they 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."

Judge to decide fate of employees, Trump offer

The offer, part of Trump's campaign to overhaul and restructure the government, is billed by senior administration officials to get rid of 5-10 percent of the federal workforce, which, they estimate, could unlock around $100 billion in savings.

The OPM email titled "Fork in the Road" mirrors Musk's message to X (formerly Twitter) staff post-acquisition in 2022. He sacked many of the company's employees while others quit in a buyout deal.

Three employee unions with the support of 20 Democratic attorneys general who have brought the lawsuit argue that Trump's "slapdash resignation programme" is unlawful.

They have claimed the "deferred resignation" offer is an "unlawful ultimatum" to force the resignation of government workers under the "threat of mass termination." They have also criticised it for lacking congressionally approved funding and failing to reassure employees about Trump's commitment to it.

Lawyers for the US government, meanwhile, claim Trump can authorise federal employee buyouts legally, emphasising that further delays might be "remarkably disruptive and inequitable repercussions."

"Extending the deadline for the acceptance of deferred resignation on its very last day will markedly disrupt the expectations of the federal workforce, inject tremendous uncertainty into a program that scores of federal employees have already availed themselves of, and hinder the Administration's efforts to reform the federal workforce," DOJ attorney Joshua E Gardner wrote in a recent filing.

The fate of federal workers like Emily and Rubel now hangs in the balance as District Judge George O'Toole in Boston will hear arguments on Monday.

O'Toole could stop it or allow it to proceed, or grant another temporary pause to the programme that could extend the government's deadline for the employees to accept the offer.