At least 20,000 federal employees have accepted what amounts to a buyout from the Trump administration, a source confirmed to The Hill on Tuesday.
Employees still have until Feb. 6 to accept the offer to resign and get paid through September, and the source told The Hill the number of resignations are expected to increase sharply ahead of the deadline at the end of the week.
Axios first reported on the 20,000 figure, which amounts to roughly 1 percent of the federal workforce.
The Trump administration last month offered 2 million federal employees the opportunity to resign ahead of return to office requirements as part of an effort to shrink the workforce.
A union representing federal employees has cautioned workers against accepting the offer, and lawmakers representing federal workers in the Washington, D.C., area railed against the deal.
Elon Musk, a top Trump ally who has a hand in the effort, said the offer would give employees time to “take the vacation you always wanted, or just watch movies and chill.”
But the offer’s vague language is igniting skepticism and calls for workers to reject the deal, while raising questions about whether the government has the legal authority to do it.
