Roughly 20,000 federal workers have accepted President Donald Trump’s “buyout” offer as part of his administration’s efforts to cut government spending.
20,000 workers — which amounts to approximately one percent of the federal workforce — have chosen to leave federal government employment.
The offer is open until Thursday and the Trump administration hopes to have five to ten percent of the workforce accept the buyout option.
“We expect more to come. If you see what’s happening at USAID, it’s just one piece of the puzzle,” a senior Trump administration official said, noting the Trump administration’s transformation of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) operations. USAID is supposed to grant aid, but has lately funded woke policies abroad.
The Trump administration official also said that they hope to implement a hiring freeze; however, many agencies are still hiring many new workers.
The buyout option would enable those who accept the offer to stop work immediately, although they will continue to be paid until September 30.
Elon Musk, who is leading the Trump Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) efforts, and his allies have taken over government bureaucrats’ human resources agency.
Reuters reported:
A team including current and former employees of Musk assumed command of OPM [Office of Personnel Management] 0n Jan. 20, the day Trump took office. They have moved sofa beds onto the fifth floor of the agency’s headquarters, which contains the director’s office and can only be accessed with a security badge or a security escort, one of the OPM employees said.
The sofa beds have been installed so the team can work around the clock, the employee said.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported that the federal government, under President Joe Biden’s administration in 2023, wasted $236 billion in improper payments throughout 71 federal programs.
Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on X @SeanMoran3.