WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 Thousands of miles from Elon Musk鈥檚 office in the White House complex, a federal worker based in the Pacific Northwest is wondering whether to quit.
Musk, one of President Donald Trump鈥檚 , has orchestrated an for people to leave their government jobs, promising several months of pay in return for their resignation. The worker, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, wants to take the money and move overseas.
But she鈥檚 worried. What if the offer is too good to be true? What if this is really a covert effort to make a list of disloyal government employees?
Her situation is a microcosm of the uncertainty sweeping through the federal government, which is the country鈥檚 single largest employer. More than 2 million workers 鈥 analysts, nurses, scientists, accountants, food inspectors and loan processors 鈥 face a deadline of 11:59 p.m. EST Thursday to decide if they should leave.
Trump administration is urging workers to take the deal
The is part of Trump鈥檚 plan to , weakening what allies describe as the 鈥渄eep state鈥 that undermined the Republican president during his first term. Administration officials said they can save taxpayer money by presenting employees with 鈥渁 valuable, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" to stop working while still collecting a paycheck until Sept. 30.
On Wednesday, the administration ramped up its pressure on employees to leave, sending a reminder that layoffs or furloughs could come next.
鈥淭he majority of federal agencies are likely to be downsized through restructurings, realignments, and reductions in force,鈥 said the message from the Office of Personnel Management, which has been a nexus of .
The email said anyone who remains will be expected to be 鈥渓oyal鈥 and 鈥渨ill be subject to enhanced standards of suitability and conduct as we move forward.鈥 Some employees could be reclassified to limit civil service protections as well.
鈥淓mployees who engage in unlawful behavior or other misconduct will be prioritized for appropriate investigation and discipline, including termination,鈥 the email said.
Democrats and unions warn that workers could be stiffed
Democrats said workers shouldn't accept the deferred resignation program because it wasn't authorized by Congress, raising the risk they won't get paid. Unions have sued to stop Trump's plans, and a judge will consider whether to block the financial offer at a hearing Thursday afternoon in Boston.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a scam and not a buyout,鈥 said Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees.
Kelley said he tells workers that 鈥渋f it was me, I wouldn鈥檛 do it.鈥
An employee at the Department of Education, who also spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation, said the administration appeared desperate to get people to sign the agreement. However, she said there were too many red flags, such as a clause waiving the right to sue if the government failed to honor its side of the deal.
The deal is 鈥榚xactly what it looks like,鈥 says Trump official
Trump put Musk, the world's richest man, in charge of the so-called , which is a sweeping initiative to reduce the size and scope of the federal government. The original email offering the deferred resignation program was titled 鈥淔ork in the road,鈥 echoing a similar message that Musk sent Twitter employees two years ago after he bought the social media platform.
Trump administration officials have organized question-and-answer sessions with employees as the deadline approaches.
Rachel Oglesby, the chief of staff at the U.S. Department of Education who previously worked at the America First Policy Institute, said Trump is trying to reduce the federal workforce.
鈥淚 know there鈥檚 been a lot of questions out there about whether it鈥檚 real and whether it鈥檚 a trick,鈥 she said, according to a recording obtained by The Associated Press. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 exactly what it looks like. It鈥檚 one of the many tools that he鈥檚 using to try to achieve the campaign promise to bring reform to the civil service and changes to D.C.鈥
The issue was also discussed during a meeting with Department of Agriculture employees, according to another recording obtained by the AP. Marlon Taubenheim, a human resources official, acknowledged that 鈥渢hese are very trying times鈥 and 鈥渢here鈥檚 a lot of stress.鈥
鈥淯nfortunately, we don鈥檛 have all the answers,鈥 he said.
Jacqueline Ponti-Lazaruk, another agency leader, said employees 鈥減robably didn鈥檛 have the runway of time that you might have liked to make a life-changing decision.鈥
For those who remain, she said, "we鈥檒l just keep plugging along.鈥
Assurances from administration officials have not alleviated concerns across a range of agencies. Some federal workers said they did not trust the validity of the offers, doubting that Trump has the authority to disburse money. Others point to his as a New York real estate mogul.
Musk's plans spark demonstrations in Washington
Scattered protests have sprung up outside federal buildings, including on Tuesday at the Office of Personnel Management.
鈥淚鈥檓 taking a risk and being bold and trying to get more federal workers to take a risk to speak out," said Dante O鈥橦ara, who said he works for the government. "Because if we don鈥檛, then we鈥檙e all going to lose our jobs and they鈥檙e going to put all these loyalists or people that will be their shock troops.鈥
Government jobs have often been considered secure positions, but O鈥橦ara said there鈥檚 fear in the workforce. The sense from his colleagues is 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if I鈥檓 going to be here tomorrow because, like, we don鈥檛 know what鈥檚 going to happen.鈥欌
Dan Smith, a Maryland resident whose father was a research scientist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said federal workers are 鈥渟o underappreciated and so taken for granted.鈥
鈥淚t鈥檚 one thing to downsize the government. It鈥檚 one thing to try to obliterate it," Smith said. "And that鈥檚 what鈥檚 going on. And that is what is so frightening and disgusting and requires pushback.鈥
Mary-Jean Burke, a physical therapist for the Department of Veterans Affairs in Indianapolis, said she's worried that too many people will leave, jeopardizing health care services.
Burke, who also serves as a union official, said doubts have also been growing over whether to take the offer.
鈥淥riginally, I think people were like, 鈥業鈥檓 out of here,'" she said. But then they saw a social media post from DOGE, which said employees can "take the vacation you always wanted, or just watch movies and chill, while receiving your full government pay and benefits.鈥
The message backfired because "that kind of thing sounded a little bit too good to be true and people were hesitant,鈥 Burke said.
Either way, she said, Trump has achieved his apparent goal of shaking up the federal workforce.
鈥淓very day, it鈥檚 something,鈥 Burke said. 鈥淚f he signed up to be a disrupter, he鈥檚 doing it.鈥
___
Associated Press writers Nancy Benac, Nathan Ellgren, Gary Fields, Joshua Goodman and Brian Witte contributed to this report.
