The Trump administration sent an email Tuesday offering all federal employees eight months of pay and benefits in exchange for their resignation. To accept, all that they had to do was reply to the email with a single word: “Resign.”
For federal worker Jane Smith, whose name has been changed to retain her privacy, this is her time experiencing an administration turnover while working for a government agency. She said receiving the email left her feeling unsure, stressed, and scared—to say the least.
Regardless, Smith knows one thing for certain: She will not be typing “resign.”
“I am dedicated to this mission; I believe in it. I think that what I do helps communities, and I’m going to continue doing my duty and protecting the community,” Smith told Daily Kos.
But when the conversation shifted to what the future in her role might look like, a fearful tone took over.
Should federal staffers—excluding military personnel, immigration enforcement, national security, and U.S. Postal Service workers—choose to continue working, the email seems to imply that they could be furloughed or even eventually fired.
“We will insist on excellence at every level. Our performance standards will be updated to reward and promote those that exceed expectations and address in a fair and open way those who do not meet the high standards which the taxpayers of this country have a right to demand,” the email stated.
“That’s just a fluffy paragraph that’s supposed to make me afraid of being ‘disloyal,’ but I know I’m reliable,” Smith insisted.
But uneasiness seeped into her voice as she reiterated that she, like her colleagues, is as trustworthy today as when she made an oath on the Constitution when she first started in her position.
And Smith’s uneasiness is warranted.
Trump has openly discussed plans to slash federal jobs, and conservatives have even worked from within to tip off and compile lists of federal workers who might not be in favor of the new regime.
“It has a lot of language that is very obviously supposed to make me afraid for the future of my job,” Smith said.
While she works remotely on the West Coast, Smith said she fears what it would mean if any of her teammates were to take a hit. According to Smith, her team is already drowning in work—a far cry from Trump and DOGE Chair Elon Musk’s claims that the budget for federal workers is in excess.
For Smith, it’s outright “insulting.” As she and her team juggle intense workloads, they’re now faced with the challenge of returning to an office that doesn’t have enough space for all of the employees.
“If everyone who works out of the office were to suddenly go into work tomorrow, there would not be enough space,” she explained.
While Trump and Musk bicker over exorbitant spending, federal workers are simply asking for desks.
Elon Musk posted on X, calling President Donald Trump’s federal buyout offer “a fair & generous deal.”
Musk seems to have his hands all over Trump’s federal buyout plan, too. The email, titled “Fork in the Road,” shares the same title as the email Musk sent to force widespread resignations when he bought Twitter in 2022.
“It really is a fair & generous deal,” Musk wrote on X, adding that the buyout offer is the “most that is legally allowed without Congress passing another appropriations bill. Very generous.”
But Musk and Trump seem to be forgetting something that could cause a hiccup in their buyout plan: People don’t typically take federal jobs for the money.
And for Smith, who has pursued a career in the federal government to provide care to her community, it isn’t about a paycheck.
“I’m going to maintain my oath,” she said determinedly.
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