What happens when a federal worker accepts Trump's deferred resignation offer?
When a U.S. Office of Personnel Management email last Tuesday entitled "Fork in the Road" offered a "deferred resignation" to 2 million federal government employees, the move sent shockwaves through federal agencies.
The program, which offers to continue to pay federal employees through Sept. 30, 2025, if they resign by Feb. 6, is part of DOGE head Elon Musk's effort to trim the size of government under President Donald Trump. The emails sparked widespread confusion about the offer's legality and whether it could even be executed.
Some employment lawyers have questioned whether the offer is lawful because Congress, not the White House, is responsible for authorizing workers' paychecks. On Friday, senior officials at the various federal agencies sent memos to staffers assuring them the offers were valid and lawful.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the idea the buyout offer was intended to purge employees who disagree with Trump's agenda is "false" and asserted that this is a way to bring people back to the office.
"We're all here at work, at the office," Leavitt said last week. "There are law enforcement officers and teachers and nurses across the country who showed up to the office today. People in this city need to do the same. It's an overwhelmingly popular policy with people outside of Washington, D.C."
Many federal employees ABC News spoke with said they have no plans to accept the offer -- with some saying it only reinforces their determination to stay on.
But one employee, who asked that their name not be used, told ABC News they decided to take the offer.
Here's how that process is going so far for at least one federal employee.
After receiving the offer, the employee -- who works at a federal agency -- told ABC News they were initially nervous and fearful about the prospect. But after thinking it over for about a day, they followed the instructions in the OPM email and replied with the word "resign" in the body and their name in the subject line, according to a copy of the email reviewed by ABC News.
"This is happening," the employee told ABC News. "I was scared, nervous, and excited all at the same time. Thought about it for a day I think. ... And I just told myself that I'm going to do it."
A few hours later, they received a response from OPM: "We received your email response. We will reply shortly," according to an email reviewed by ABC News.
Nearly a week later -- and days before the resignation deadline on Thursday -- that message is the last direct correspondence this employee has had with OPM about accepting the offer.
The employee said that inside their agency, there has been confusion among their colleagues and silence from management. When they informed management that they had accepted OPM's offer, they received no response, according to the employee.
Later, when they followed up with management, they were told they should have waited for more guidance before accepting the offer, they told ABC News.
The employee said that management initially told them that they would still have to work even after resigning -- though they later clarified that would not be the case.
Beyond some junior staff asking what the offer might mean for their jobs, the employee says most of the office has been in shock since the offer email went out.
They were also surprised by the overwhelmingly negative reactions from other federal employees.
The employee told ABC News that they decided to take up Musk's team on the offer largely for personal reasons.
"I've been telling myself for the last five years that I was going to quit. But it's a good job, I like the job. ... I love my job."
"This is just the nudge that I needed to take that leap," they said.
