About 75,000 federal workers have abandoned ship and decided to accept President Trump’s deferred buyout offer after a federal judge lifted a temporary freeze on the offer.
The buyout was just one of many approaches Trump and Elon Musk‘s Department of Government Efficiency have taken to dismantle bloated bureaucracies and slash a civilian workforce of 2.3 million.
The program promised employees their salaries and benefits until October if they leave immediately. The 75,000 represents about 3% of the civilian workforce.
A union which represents hundreds of thousands of federal workers sued last week to stop the deal. But a Massachusetts judge ruled the unions lack standing to challenge the directive.
Trump declared victory on the program Wednesday night and closed the offer to anyone who has not yet accepted.
He also warned federal agencies to prepare for wide-ranging job cuts, and several departments have begun to lay off recent hires who lack full job security.
Officials have been told that some agencies can see up to 70% of their staff cut.
Elon Musk cheered on the government purge Wednesday night and warned critics ‘the matrix is being reprogrammed’ as he seeks to cut $2 trillion in spending.
The billionaire’s sweeping vision to overhaul government began taking shape as he dismantles federal agencies, which could see a 40 per cent workforce cut.
About 75,000 federal workers accepted the deferred buyout program of Donald Trump ‘s administration, as Elon Musk ‘s Department of Government Efficiency continues to gut waste
The announcement comes after a federal judge lifted the temporary freeze on President Trump’s offer to workers
The call for austerity from Musk came as it was revealed the Tesla founder could be the benefactor of a $400 million contract from the State Department.
The department appears to have altered its fourth quarter procurement forecast to include the large amount buy for ‘Armored Tesla.’
Also on Wednesday, Trump said he wants the Department of Education to be shut down immediately, calling it a ‘con job.’ DOGE said members already stripped $900 million worth of waste and fraud from the department.
Trump has deputized Musk to head the newly created DOGE, which is combing through payment and personnel records in an effort to cut spending.
The federal budget totaled $6.75 trillion last year. Civilian worker salaries account for less than 5% of that total.
Massachusetts District Judge George O’Toole, a President Clinton appointee, lifted the temporary restraining order on Tuesday after ruling the unions lack standing.
“There is no longer any doubt: the Deferred Resignation Program was both legal and a valuable option for federal employees,” the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) said in a statement.
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and other unions sued ahead of the February 6 deadline for federal workers to accept the Trump administration’s ‘deferred resignation’ offer last week.
The buyout is one of many approaches Trump is taking to slash a civilian workforce of 2.3 million that he has blasted as ineffective and biased against him
Unions had urged their members not to accept the buyout and have warned that Trump cannot be trusted to honor it
Musk used a Star Trek reference on Wednesday evening to praise his team for reprogramming the ‘matrix… to make success one of the possible outcomes.’
‘They did not expect this,’ he wrote. ‘K Maru,’ he added, referencing the Star Trek training exercise of overcoming an ‘unwinnable’ task.
The billionaire Tesla founder and ‘First Buddy’ also shared several videos highlighting the achievements of DOGE during Trump’s first month in office.
Musk’s reference to the ‘matrix’ appears to be related to a theory that the world is being manipulated and controlled by shadowy figures. The movie of the same name depicts a dystopian future in which humanity is trapped inside a simulation of reality created by machines – otherwise known as ‘The Matrix.’
Staff across several departments received an email from an official at OPM – now run by Musk’s allies – which confirmed widespread layoffs are underway.
These have been described as a ‘reduction in force.’
According to the Washington Post, departments which are favored by President Trump will likely escape the brunt of the changes – namely the Defense Department and the Homeland Security Department.
Musk has warned critics ‘the matrix is being reprogrammed’ as he sets about dismantling federal government agencies through mass layoffs that aim to cut as much as 40 per cent of the workforce cut
White House officials have not confirmed that figure and insiders say there is still room for that to fluctuate.
During Musk’s X posting spree on Wednesday night, he shared a video of a press conference President Trump held earlier in the day commending the work DOGE has already undertaken.
‘I want to commend Elon because he’s done a fantastic – he doesn’t need this,’ Trump said. ‘He’s abused by you people every day. He’s found more things than anybody could find. He’s got the credibility to do it.
‘His group of people, they started off with 12, I call them 12 geniuses. They started off with 12, they went to 20, and 25 and now they’re up to almost 100. People are joining to help them. This is a massive fraud that’s taken place.’
On Tuesday, President Trump signed a new executive order which directed agency heads to ‘promptly undertake preparations to initiate large-scale reductions in force.’
Musk’s DOGE, along with the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), has also been granted sweeping powers to assert greater control over the hiring of any federal employee.
President Trump put in place a 90-day hiring freeze when he returned to the White House for his second term.
‘The people voted for major government reform and that’s what the people are going to get,’ Musk said on Tuesday, from the Oval Office.
A federal judge on Wednesday lifted the temporary freeze on President Trump’s ‘buyout’ offer to federal workers
Just over three percent of workers had taken the administration up on the as the deadline was paused
‘They’re going to get what they voted for.’
One the tactics includes ridding departments of employees who are still in their probationary periods – which can last up to two years in some agencies.
These workers have limited recourse available to them to push back on the decision, and amount to seven per cent of the full civilian workforce of two million.
But the purge has not been without hiccups along the way. Some staff at the Small Business Association reported they received an email Monday informing them they’d been terminated, only to get a follow up email revoking it.
‘If you are in receipt of the initial notice,’ the email read, ‘your employment has not been terminated as was erroneously indicated in the initial notice.’
Then on Tuesday came a third email that informed them they were, in fact, being let go.
Staff at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau alleged to the Post they received an email terminating their contracts that appeared to be sent in error, including unfinished placeholds that read ‘[EmployeeFirstName] [EmployeeLastName]’ and noting, ‘I am removing you from your position of [JobTitle].’
DOGE estimated between five and 10 percent of government workers would take the offer and that it would save an estimated $100 billion a year.
The offer as presented by the OPM gave all federal workers the option to resign from their current position but remain on the payroll with all benefits until September 30.
The email gave notice that most federal employees were to return to work at offices five days a week. For those who took the offer, they would be exempted from in-person work requirements.
