We Took the Buyout: Federal Employees on Why They Accepted the Offer to Quit

More than 75,000 workers accepted the buyout program, which was part of effort to shrink the size of the federal bureaucracy.
We Took the Buyout: Federal Employees on Why They Accepted the Offer to Quit
Demonstrators rally outside the U.S. Office of Personnel Management in Washington on Feb. 5, 2025. Nathan Howard/Reuters
Stacy Robinson
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Shortly after taking office, the Trump administration offered federal employees a deal many couldn’t refuse: resign voluntarily and receive full benefits and paid leave lasting until September.
More than 75,000 workers eventually accepted the Deferred Resignation Program, or buyout, which came as part of the administration’s broader efforts to shrink the size of the federal bureaucracy. Since the beginning of President Donald Trump’s second term, the government has laid off hundreds of thousands of federal employees and contractors.
Stacy Robinson
Stacy Robinson
Author
Stacy Robinson is a politics reporter for the Epoch Times, occasionally covering cultural and human interest stories. Based out of Washington, D.C. he can be reached at [email protected]