Trump's death by a thousand cuts to D.C. federal workforce
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President Trump addresses the 2025 Republican Issues Conference at the Trump National Doral Miami earlier this week. Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
It's only been a little over a week since President Trump took office, but already he's unleashed a ream of actions targeting the federal workforce — a sort of government death via a thousand cuts.
Why it matters: This unprecedented stream of executive orders and memorandums is unsettling Washington households as people scramble to determine whether their jobs and livelihoods are safe.
State of play: Since Jan. 20 — just nine days ago — Trump has:
- Frozen federal hiring
- Mandated full-time in-office work
- Moved to reclassify thousands of civil servants and strip them of employment protections
- Rolled back decades of government diversity and affirmative action practices
- Fired DEI staffers, 17 inspectors general and the Coast Guard's commandant
- Sidelined National Security Council detailees to suss out their loyalty
- Paused federal grant, loan and financial assistance programs (until a federal judge intervened).
The latest: Federal workers received an email blast from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Tuesday night stating they can resign from their jobs by Feb. 6 — nine days from now — and receive pay and benefits through Sept. 30.
- The note stated that the "reformed federal workforce" under Trump would be built around four pillars: "return to office," "performance culture," a "more streamlined and flexible workforce" and "enhanced standards of conduct."
- "Type the word 'Resign' into the body of this reply email," OPM's missive said. "Hit 'Send.'"
- But the note also had a message for workers who choose to stay: "We cannot give you full assurance regarding the certainty of your position or agency."
The intrigue: Some social media sleuths were quick to point out that the title of the OPM memo, "Fork in the Road," was also the subject line of an email the new DOGE head Elon Musk sent to Twitter employees in 2022 asking them to pledge to being "extremely hardcore" or resign.
- It's also the name of a piece of art Musk commissioned, per an X post he made last month — which appears to be quite literally a giant fork in a road.
Reality check: It's not entirely clear whether the Trump administration has the ability to offer such sweeping severance.
- Reorganizing or downsizing agencies can offer resigning workers a $25,000 buy-out.
- But many of the payments described in the email blast would likely exceed this number.
- As of now, the government is only funded through March 14.
Tim Kaine, Virginia's Democratic Senator, was on the Hill Tuesday night warning workers they wouldn't be paid.
- "The president has no authority to make that offer," Kaine said. "There's no budget line item to pay people who are not showing up for work."
What they're saying: The tactic might have unintended consequences: It could spur the most talented federal employees with the best private-sector prospects to leave, according to Terry Clower, an economist who studies the capital region at George Mason University.
- "So how does that work if you're trying to accelerate government efficiency if who you drive away are your best workers?" Clower tells Axios.
The fine print: The severance applies to all full-time federal employees "except for military personnel of the armed forces, employees of the U.S. Postal Service, those in positions related to immigration enforcement and national security, and those in any other positions specifically excluded by your employing agency," per OPM's email.
What we're watching: Whether the administration will give more clarity around how workers would get paid out (lump sum, biweekly, other); whether there'll be restrictions around collecting the severance if you get a new job; and whether the policy will be challenged in court.
Cuneyt Dil contributed reporting.