Uncertainty and Fear Grip Federal Workforce Buyout Deadline Arrives By: Kathryn A. PHILADELPHIA
Washington, D.C. – President Donald Trump is making a serious attempt to streamline the federal government through the Federal Workforce Buyout, causing anxiety among 2.3 million government employees as the deadline approaches.
“I see it as a veiled threat,” said a federal worker with 25 years of service, speaking anonymously for fear of retribution. “There’s no flexibility—either comply or leave.”
Since his inauguration, Trump has moved aggressively to downsize the federal workforce, pushing to replace career civil servants with political loyalists. The administration expects substantial cost savings through these reductions.
“Everybody’s replaceable, and we’ll get very good people if we need to,” Trump said of the buyout plan, which the White House called “deferred resignations.”
Federal employees face difficult decisions. Some fear that the severance package may never come, and others fear the worst: a refusal of the offer may translate into mass layoffs. An internal Office of Personnel Management memo confirmed on Tuesday that agencies, with the exception of the Defense Department, are ready for downsizing, and that furloughs may not be far behind.
A 27-year-old government worker protesting outside the OPM headquarters expressed her frustration: “It’s insulting. Our work serves the American people, and now we’re being discarded.”
Meanwhile, a federal analyst in Utah, responsible for overseeing a trillion-dollar budget, described the situation as “nerve-racking.” She has spent sleepless nights debating her decision while watching colleagues opt for the buyout purely out of fear.
The restructuring mirrors Musk’s handling of Twitter (now *X) in 2022, where he issued a similar “Fork in the Road” email before cutting the workforce by 80%.
The offer was extended to almost all of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) employees on Tuesday, which further increased fear of mass exit and national security concerns.
The American Federation of Government Employees, which has 800,000 federal employees in its roll, filed the lawsuit against Trump administration on Tuesday, arguing the buyout to be illegal with no congressional appropriation beyond March 14. Lawsuit joined with other unions; it is placed for an emergency hearing on Thursday.
AFGE President *Everett Kelley* warned the administration wants to privatize government jobs. *”Trump wants to gut the workforce so he can outsource essential government services,”* Kelley said. *”He’s setting up failure to justify privatization.”*
The *White House* estimates that *5% to 10%* of employees will take the buyout, saving an estimated $100 billion. As of Tuesday, more than *20,000* had already signed on, and numbers are expected to surge before the deadline.
For many workers, however, staying put feels just as uncertain. A senior *Education Department* analyst, now on administrative leave without warning, said he was cut off from his work systems. *”I’m in limbo. I don’t know whether to look for another job or hold on,”* he admitted.
Federal employees are bracing for Friday’s *”day of fallout,”* when resignations take effect. *”I’ve dedicated my career to this country, and now I might lose everything overnight,”* said a federal worker close to retirement.
With potential mass layoffs on the horizon, employees and lawmakers are waiting for what’s next from Trump and Musk as they continue their aggressive overhaul. The future of federal employment and services for millions of Americans is hanging in the balance.
