Trump administration offers most feds ‘deferred resignation’ if they agree to quit by next week

The Trump administration is looking further scale down the size of the federal workforce by giving federal employees governmentwide the option to voluntarily resign from their positions in exchange for eight months of pay.

In an email the Office of Personnel Management sent out to all federal employees Tuesday evening, the Trump administration offered most of the 2.2 million employees in the career federal workforce the option of resigning from their roles in what it called a “deferred resignation program.”

Employees who choose to resign from their roles have to let OPM know of their decision by Feb. 6, according to the email, obtained by Federal News Network. The employees would be placed on paid administrative leave until the effective date of their resignation, which OPM said should be no later than Sept. 30.

The email included a template message employees can use to inform OPM of their decision, if they plan to leave federal service in response to the administration’s offer. The news was first reported by Axios.

“If you choose to remain in your current position, we thank you for your renewed focus on serving the American people,” the email states.

The Trump administration said the resignation option is available to most federal employees across government, except for military personnel, U.S. Postal Service employees, those working in immigration or national security positions, and “those in any other positions specifically excluded by your employing agency.”

Its unclear how the mass offer for voluntary resignations would work in practice. The federal government offers voluntary separation incentive payments, but there appears to be no precedent in the federal government of a “deferred resignation program.”

The mass email comes after OPM tested a governmentwide communications system last week. A group of federal employees has since filed a lawsuit regarding the messaging system.

OPM also outlined four pillars for what it said the Trump administration plans to use as the central points for its efforts to overhaul the federal workforce: returning to the office, performance culture, a more streamlined and flexible workforce, and enhanced standards of conduct.

The pillars align with many of President Donald Trump’s executive actions involving the federal workforce so far, including a return-to-office directive, a federal hiring freeze and an effort to remove civil service protections from certain career federal employees.

“At this time, we cannot give you full assurance regarding the certainty of your position or agency,” the email states.

OPM declined to comment further on the email and guidance sent Tuesday evening.

The American Federation of Government Employees quickly responded to the news of the mass email from OPM offering resignations.

“The number of civil servants hasn’t meaningfully changed since 1970, but there are more Americans than ever who rely on government services,” AFGE National President Everett Kelley said in a statement. “Purging the federal government of dedicated career federal employees will have vast, unintended consequences that will cause chaos for the Americans who depend on a functioning federal government. This offer should not be viewed as voluntary. Between the flurry of anti-worker executive orders and policies, it is clear that the Trump administration’s goal is to turn the federal government into a toxic environment where workers cannot stay even if they want to.”

In a subsequent OPM memo regarding the resignations, OPM Acting Director Charles Ezell additionally asked agencies to submit lists of the number of federal employees who ultimately choose to resign or who are applying for early or normal retirement, as well as any employees who later choose to rescind their resignations.

Copyright © 2026 Federal News Network. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.