A court order temporarily blocking a federal worker “buyout” plan is giving President Donald Trump’s administration more time to convince people to head for the exits.
The administration had fought the effort to extend the deadline, calling it disruptive. But that extension now gives it four more days to escalate its pressure campaign on the federal workforce.
Extension of Deadline Sparks Controversy
The Office of Personnel Management told some government employees in an email Thursday afternoon that the deadline for the deferred resignation program had been extended until Monday at 11:59 p.m., according to a copy of the message obtained by POLITICO. The subject line was “Fork in the Road: Deadline Extended to Monday.”
The email said the extension was done in “compliance with an order issued today” to delay their plan to purge federal employees and stated that workers could pursue the program by replying “resign.” But, a second email to federal workers noted, “Contrary to some media reporting, the program has not been cancelled or blocked.”
On Thursday evening, OPM said more than 60,000 had accepted the offer, short of the 5 to 10 percent of employees the government is seeking. The original deadline for employees to opt into the plan was Thursday at 11:59 p.m.
Confusion and Legal Challenges
“Federal employees are understandably confused by the inconsistencies in the various communications they’ve received about this offer,” said Rushab Sanghvi, general counsel for the American Federation of Government Employee, a union representing federal workers. “This lawsuit isn’t about getting rid of the program, it’s about making sure it’s done correctly and legally.”
OPM shared a post on social media citing the Monday deadline when asked for comment.
Before Senior District Judge George O’Toole issued an order Thursday afternoon temporarily pausing the deadline for the deferred resignation plan, billionaire Elon Musk and Trump officials worked in the hours leading to the original Thursday deadline to create a hostile environment for workers in government while at the same time offering them a promise of a better path elsewhere.
Coercion and Distrust Among Workers
Trump officials sent emails aimed at coaxing government employees into the offer. One message told workers on Wednesday evening that those who take the deferred resignation program “will generally not be expected to work, and will have their compensation protected, even in the event of a lapse in appropriations.”
At the same time, Musk kept up his online taunts of government workers, sharing a post that read “Bureaucracy fears one thing: DOGE,” as news broke that the White House was drafting an executive order firing federal employees across agencies.
Some workers, however, were wary of taking the offer in part because they didn’t believe the government would follow through on the early resignation offers.
Legal Proceedings and Technological Challenges
O’Toole scheduled a hearing for Monday to hear full arguments in the challenge.
OPM’s chief information officer submitted an affidavit to the court Thursday afternoon stating that it is complying with O’Toole’s order but, due to technological limitations, some employees may not receive notice until late in the day.
“OPM’s system does not support sending more than two million emails simultaneously and if OPM tried to send all the emails at the exact same time, they might simply be blocked by the receiving limits,” Greg Hogan stated.
