Millions of federal government workers faced a midnight deadline decision Tuesday on President Trump’s offer of buyouts he says would allow them to collect paychecks for six months.
But Democrats warned government employees not to take Trump’s bait, noting that Trump could easily welch on what looks like a decent deal.
Unions representing federal workers have sued to block the plan and a federal judge in Boston is considering their emergency request to put the plan on hold.
The White House claims about 40,000 workers have submitted paperwork to accept the offer from Trump and budget-slashing sidekick Elon Musk, which says they may get paid until September in exchange for their resignation.
Along with the buyout carrot, Trump is waving a big stick of threatened extensive layoffs if he doesn’t get enough volunteers from among the approximately 2 million federal employees.
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which is spearheading Musk’s shock-and-awe effort to downsize the government, warned workers to grab the offer to get out while the getting is good.
“The majority of federal agencies are likely to be downsized through restructurings, realignments, and reductions in force,” said the message from OPM.
The email added that remaining workers would be expected to be “loyal,” presumably to Trump and his MAGA movement’s right-wing goals.
“Employees who engage in unlawful behavior or other misconduct will be prioritized for appropriate investigation and discipline, including termination,” the email added.
Democrats said workers shouldn’t accept the deferred resignation program because it wasn’t authorized by Congress, raising the risk they won’t be paid as Trump promises.
Unions have vowed to resist Trump and Musk’s efforts to gut the government workforce.
“It’s a scam and not a buyout,” said Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees. “If it was me, I wouldn’t do it.”
District Judge George A. O’Toole Jr. will preside over a virtual hearing on a lawsuit filed in Boston by the legal group Democracy Forward on behalf of unions representing more than 800,000 civil servants that seeks to block the offer.
The judge could allow the buyouts to proceed or put them on hold while he gathers more information.
Scattered protests have sprung up outside federal buildings in recent days as workers ponder their future under a Trump administration that makes no secret of its antipathy towards them.
Trump says he is simply keeping his promise to voters that he would dramatically downsize the federal government.
Musk has said he hopes to find trillions in annual savings in the federal budget but most analysts doubt that is realistic, at least without unpopular cuts to Medicare or Social Security that Trump has ruled out.
Democrats say the new president wants to placate budget deficit hawks in the GOP so they will give him the green light for a fat tax cut for the wealthy and big corporations.