Washington — Millions of US government workers face a Thursday deadline to inform the Trump administration whether they will accept a retrenchment offer or remain in their jobs, but still face the possibility of being fired if they decide to stay.
President Donald Trump’s aggressive drive to reduce the size of the government in a matter of weeks is unprecedented. It has caused turmoil in the US capital, and sparked protests and union warnings that it may violate multiple laws.
More than 40,000 federal employees had accepted the offer by Wednesday night, according to a source.
It is not clear how many of the federal government’s 2.3-million civilian employees will accept the offer, which promises to pay their salaries until October if they resign by Thursday.
Others are fighting the proposal in court. Unions representing federal workers sued to block the “deferred resignation programme” last week. A federal judge in Boston is to consider their request later on Thursday.
Those who don’t accept the offer have been told their jobs could be at risk as the administration moves ahead with its overhaul of government operations.
The retrenchments encompass not only employees at domestic agencies such as the department of labor that have traditionally drawn the ire of Trump’s Republicans, but intelligence agencies such as the CIA too.
The offer is part of a government overhaul, which is being led by Trump’s billionaire adviser Elon Musk. It has resulted in purges of personnel in a number of departments and has significantly scaled down USAID, America’s main humanitarian agency.
More cuts are likely. One source at the office of personnel management said officials increased their demand for layoffs on Wednesday to 70% of all staff from 30% .
Trump’s lieutenants at the justice department have already fired prosecutors who worked on cases involving people who attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, and have demanded the names of as many as 6,000 FBI agents who were involved.
The White House says it is following through on Trump’s campaign promise to cut wasteful spending and slim down a bureaucracy that many conservatives see as left-leaning and unresponsive to the president’s agenda.
Democrats say the effort is illegal, as the US constitution gives Congress authority over spending matters.
“Everyone is stressed and frustrated. The mood is awful,” said one worker at the department of health and human services, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Republican legislators, who control both chambers of Congress, have cheered the effort, and Democrats have been unable to stop it.
All 47 Democrats in the Senate are expected on Thursday to vote against confirming Trump’s pick for White House budget chief, Russell Vought, but he is still expected to win confirmation with support from the chamber’s 53 Republicans.
Reuters
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