Buyout offers: Trump’s govt pays more than 154,000 federal workers to resign

The administration of United States President Donald Trump is under scrutiny for a controversial deferred resignation programme through which more than 154,000 federal workers are being paid to resign.

The programme, which offered buyouts to civil servants across dozens of government agencies, allows them to retain their salaries and benefits until the end of the current fiscal year on September 30, even though they are no longer working.

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An administration official confirmed the figure to ABC News, noting that Trump’s move affects just over 6% of the 2.3 million federal workers.

The buyout offers were intended to streamline government operations and reduce long-term costs.

However, critics argue that the programme has been poorly executed, triggering chaos in public offices, disrupting services, and creating legal battles between the government and federal unions all at taxpayers’ expense.

Max Steier, President and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service, described the situation as counterproductive.

“The American taxpayer is not only watching dedicated federal workers be sidelined, they’re paying for it,” he told ABC News. “They’ve done ‘ready, fire, aim’ instead of ‘ready, aim, fire.’”

In defense of the program, a spokesperson for the United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM), McLaurine Pinover, stated that the initiative was lawful and strategic.

“It provided over 150,000 civil servants a dignified and generous departure from federal service.

It also delivered incredible relief to the American taxpayer. No previous administration has come close to saving this amount in such a short time,” she said.

Despite these claims, there are lingering questions about the program’s actual cost and transparency.

The OPM has not disclosed how much has been spent on salaries and benefits for the non-working employees or on legal fees stemming from lawsuits challenging the buyouts.

In a report released Thursday, Senate Democrats estimated that the government has spent billions maintaining workers who are either on voluntary leave or locked in legal limbo.

The she said report further alleged that the wider cost-saving campaign, part of a federal efficiency initiative reportedly linked to tech billionaire Elon Musk may have already cost the government $21.7 billion due to administrative errors and waste.

Although the administration disputes some of these figures, critics insist the program has caused more harm than good, raising serious concerns about accountability and fiscal responsibility in government reform efforts.