Trump offers buyouts to U.S. federal workers as judge blocks his grants, loans freeze
Employees who leave voluntarily by Feb. 6. could receive about 8 months of salary
The White House on Tuesday began offering buyouts to federal employees — the latest effort to overhaul the U.S. government by President Donald Trump, whose recent proposal to pause federal grants and loans was blocked Tuesday by a federal judge.
A memo from the Office of Personnel Management, the government's human resources agency, said that employees who leave their posts voluntarily will receive about eight months of salary — but must choose to do so by Feb. 6.
It also listed four directives it said Trump is mandating for the federal workforce, including that most workers return to their offices full-time.
The potential large-scale reduction in the federal workforce could have wide-ranging — and as yet unknowable — implications for impacting the delivery, timeliness and effectiveness of federal services across the nation.
The federal government employs more than three million people, which makes it roughly the 15th largest workforce in the nation. The average tenure for a federal employee is 11.8 years, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of data from the Office of Personnel Management.
Also on Tuesday, a federal judge temporarily blocked a push from Trump to pause federal funding while his administration conducts an across-the-board ideological review to uproot progressive initiatives.
The Trump administration plan plunged the U.S. government — and states and organizations that rely on federal funding — into panic and confusion and set the stage for a constitutional clash over control of taxpayer money.
The order from U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan came minutes before the funding freeze was scheduled to go into effect. The administrative stay, prompted by a lawsuit brought by nonprofit groups, lasts until Monday afternoon and applies only to existing programs.
Administration officials said the decision to halt loans and grants — a financial lifeline for local governments, schools and nonprofits — was necessary to ensure that spending complies with Trump's recent blitz of executive orders. The Republican president wants to increase fossil fuel production, remove protections for transgender people and end diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.