more on the federal government’s “deferred resignation” offer (spoiler: it’s definitely a trap)

by Alison Green on February 5, 2025

Just sharing this tweet from Washington Post reporter Jeff Stein about Elon Musk’s “deferred resignation” offer for federal government workers. (Don’t take it! It’s still a trap.)A federal worker sent me audio of a call that HR did today with staff about "deferred resignation" agreements offered by DOGE ... I think this is pretty well understood by now but helps confirm what many suspect The audio goes: Employee: Lets say I accept the agreement tomorrow - you were to rescind the agreement and they were to stop paying me on Friday ... we would have no recourse available? HR official: Yes ... as the agreement is outlined that is absolutely correct

Also, if you remember the letter-writer who worked at Twitter when Elon Musk took over, that same person has sent in this note:

I just wanted to thank you for posting about what federal workers who are currently under attack can do.

The former Twitter employees I know have all spent the past couple of weeks reliving the Twitter takeover from 2 years ago but on a much more widespread and terrible scale. I want to say this is all beyond belief but … we saw this happen and how it played out, and now I’m just left feeling so angry that we couldn’t have stopped this somehow. I don’t know what I could have done differently or better, but I feel the burden of watching this happen the first time around and not being able to stop it.

Seeing the news about how Elon locked government workers out of their systems, how they’re moving beds into OPM’s headquarters … It feels like the Twilight Zone.

I would not at all be surprised if he held a public auction in the next couple weeks to sell off real estate, office equipment … all the way down to artwork on the walls and plants on employee desks.

I’m still thinking about how I can help push back on and resist what we’re seeing happen all around us, and I wanted to say that if you ever do another post on this issue, please let the federal workers know that a whole bunch of former Twitter employees know what they’re going through, and we support them, and we’re so so sorry they’re experiencing this.

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  1. Goldenrod*

    I’m glad there are still some great reporters like Jeff Stein at the Washington Post!

    A day or so earlier, they published an absolutely horrifying article that was basically like “weighing the pros and cons” of the offer, as if it were a real offer, and not a total scam/trick.

    Also, thank you to the LW at Twitter. I was thinking exactly the same thing (without having to experience it from within at Twitter). It’s playing out the same way. It’s terrifying. It’s disorienting. What is going on?? Our country is being demolished right under our eyes.

    1. Aggretsuko*

      To be fair to WaPo, I’ve definitely seen some “it’s a scam” articles, particularly from Michelle Singletary. And Annie Duke has a “here’s how to make decisions in general” article.

      1. Falling Diphthong*

        I think there is a deep problem, at the Post and other legacy media, with the framing “Everything must be an equal and opposite contest between two equal options: equally truthful, equally rational, equally sincere. We just report what we’re told People Are Saying about those two things.”

        It’s completely unsuited to “Side A says the sun rises in the east, while Side B says it will burst out of the floor of the next room, drawn by blood crazed weasels demanding a sacrifice.” (Frankly, the legacy media is annoyed that Side A can’t jazz up their presentation, maybe add some deviant space cabbages with lasers.)

        1. ragazza*

          Yes, I canceled the Post after the editor spiked the Op-Ed board’s endorsement of Kamala Harris and owner Jeff Bezos tried to justify it. And the NYTimes isn’t much better, sorry to say. I know there are good reporters there but the management is obviously OK with all of this. Compare their coverage of Biden’s age to what is clearly a literal coup.

          1. Dulcinea47*

            I cancelled the times years ago after one too many “both sides are equal” articles. All of the mainstream media is guilty of it.

          2. Dasein9 (he/him)*

            Many of the top reporters who’ve left places like NYT and WaPo can be found on Substack. You can read for free. Many folks are picking one or two who cover the issues closest to them and supporting them directly instead of paying for subscriptions to legacy media.

            1. Lime green Pacer*

              Careful, though. Substack also has tons of anti-science grifters and other no-goodniks. As always, choose your sources with care and use multiple reliable sources of info.

              1. LarryFromOregon*

                Substack allows us to support individuals who are using journalistic independence to report honestly.

                Responsible news consumption also includes reading (and financially supporting, if you can) organizations like The Guardian and ProPublica.

              2. Dasein9 (he/him)*

                It is wise to understand that Substack is not a publication, but rather a platform, yes.

          3. Kali*

            Just this morning, NYT sent out their morning newsletter with “Remaking the Government” as the headline and the whole thing is phrased so lackadaisically that it feels like I’m losing my senses. “Oh, he’s completely changing everything because he feels like there’s lots that needs changing, but gosh, Congress is supposed to have power of the purse.” It’s maddening. I canceled my subscription years ago (in his first administration), but I get this newsletter and get mad almost every day.

            1. PMaster*

              I emailed the editorial board recently when a front page headline was “Greenland: How much would it cost? We talked to experts.” I said we are in this mess (again!) because they post things like this – the sane-washing, the “let’s take an objective look” and overall waste of column-inches are what get me. Any “expert” presented with this question should have said “THAT’S RIDICULOUS, YOU CLOWN. LOSE MY NUMBER.”

              1. anon for this*

                “If Jimmy Allred says it’s raining, and W. Lee O’Daniel says it isn’t raining, Texas newspapermen quote them both, and don’t look out the window to see which is lying, and to tell the readers what the truth is at the moment.” – attributed to Hubert Mewhinney way back in the 1940s, but has been resurfacing a lot in the last couple of years.

              2. Ganymede II*

                I nearly lost my mind when a local radio (not American!) yesterday interviewed a hotel developer to figure out what problems might come up with building hotels on the Gaza strip. No mention whatsoever of the people currently living there.

          4. Dawn*

            Yeah, WaPo and NYT both exist to serve billionaire and “status quo” interests now. Some of the individual reporters can and do still great work, but for the majority and particularly from the editors, the end goal is to uphold the current state of affairs, so to speak.

          5. ElenaSSF*

            That’s exactly when I canceled my subscription too. I’m currently supporting the guardian and sad that we have to go outside the u s to get real reporting.

            1. Yankees fans are awesome!*

              Same here. I support The Guardian now. That and Mother Jones. and The Nation (although of course the latter two aren’t mainstream).

              I’m angry at how the Times and the Post normalize Felon. Really, truly angry.

        3. post script*

          Unfortunately most media belongs to billionaires now. They have their own interests, which don’t include telling the truth or helping anyone but themselves.

          1. Falling Diphthong*

            When they write the history of this era, I suspect “So the billionaires took over both the mainstream media and the new social media” will turn out to have been a rather important step.

        4. amoeba*

          This, so much. Not just in the US, we have it here in Europe. It’s a known fallacy/bias, so known that it has a Wikipedia article – “False balance”.

          1. Irish Teacher.*

            Yup, the Irish media do it an awful lot too. Not about Trump – they tend to be pretty clear on him; I think the first time he was elected was the only time I saw the Irish media using stronger language/being less neutral than the British – but with regard to our own political issues. “The ‘no’ side on the referendum on this European Treaty say it will lead to a European army/conscription/that Ireland will be required to participate in military action but the ‘yes’ side say there is no such requirement.” Well, that’s a matter of fact. Either such a requirement is there or it isn’t (and with most of those things, it wasn’t). So rather than reporting “both sides,” just report what the actual treaty or whatever says.

            The most hilarious example of it here was during the bailout when the Irish media was reporting “concerns are being raised about the possibility of a bailout but the government say these concerns are unfounded and there is no plans for a bailout,” as the BBC were reporting that the IMF had arrived in Ireland for discussions on the bailout.

            I think a lot of people think balance means “you have to ‘report both sides’ and be careful neither side sounds ‘better’ than the other side,” whereas in reality in means you report the facts regardless of which “side” they support.

            Balance shouldn’t mean that if the leader of one political party commits fraud, “we have to find something negative to report on the leaders of all other parties ‘to be fair’.” It should just mean that you would be equally quick to report it if the leader of any other party committed fraud.

      2. Ally McBeal*

        Michelle Singletary drives me CRAZY. Her advice seems to be largely from an entirely different era or assumes you have some degree of generational wealth. I used to skim her articles but got so frustrated that I had to stop.

    2. tw1968*

      And all the other elected officials seem to be doing nothing to stop this??!? They seem to have forgotten they are “public servants”, not assistant robber barons.

      2. bye*

        They could be doing plenty of things behind the scenes without you knowing. Catastrophizing helps no one.

        1. fhqwhgads*

          Ignoring it also helps no one?
          Thinking good things are happening behind the scenes when no evidence of such exists is excessively optimisitc.

          1. Forrest Rhodes*

            Agreed, fhqwhgads. And particularly considering the character (or lack thereof) of the two main instigators of this mess—Trump and Musk—I’m even more apprehensive about behind-the-scenes manipulations that we’re not (yet) aware of.

  2. frustrated worker*

    The whole thing is such a cluster. The Fork has changed several times in 8 days. At first, it was work until September 30, but you can work from home. Then it was you probably won’t have to work past February 6th, but you might. Then it was no one will have to work past February 6th. And now it is work until the end of February. They have gotten somewhat more professional in the last 2 days with a fake memorandum of agreement and not quite as insulting emails.

    Our department has no idea what is going on either. I believe them when they say that they are getting the info when we are. But today, we were told to consult an employment lawyer with questions about The Fork. So I guess we have 36 hours or so to do that.

      2. XX*

        Not just employment lawyers. I know an attorney who helps companies negotiate and bid on government contracts. He’s probably fielding lots of panicked phone calls from clients at the moment. He’s also supposed to retire soon so I bet he’s just loving the promise of more guaranteed work…

      3. Spouse of a Federal Employee*

        My spouse spoke with a law firm that specializes in representing federal employees with employment issues about whether he should take the buyout, and they literally would not make an appointment with him (and referred him to guidance they’d posted on their website) because they’re too swamped by appointments with employees who’ve already had adverse employment actions taken (like all the DEI employees who were fired). They are indeed overwhelmed.

        My spouse has also been trying to get information on his contributions to the Thrift Savings Plan, because he’s close enought to retirement age that we’re doing planning with an investment advisor, is having issues with the website, and can’t get through to the help desk. They’re swamped too, with all the people trying to figure out if they should just go ahead and retire.

    2. SadandScared*

      It’s all meant to sow discord and chaos. And it’s working. the idea that you can just eliminate positions with no rhyme or reason and figure it out later is insanely awful.

      A considering a huge part of the Fed workforce is former military, that’s another layer of insult. We celebrate those who served in the military and then they continue to serve as a civilian, but suddenly they are all lazy incompetent bureaucrats. Imagine hearing that as a disabled veteran.

      1. Texan In Exile*

        A lot of the staff at the Milwaukee VA got a “resign or else” letter yesterday. They really really don’t care about veterans.

        2. Michelle*

          They only care about veterans when someone tells them they should care about the poor. That’s when the WE NEED TO TAKE CARE OF OUR HOMELESS VETERANS FIRST comes out

          1. Spouse of a Federal Employee*

            They care about veterans when the subject of social services for immigrants comes up, as in, “Why are we giving benefits to immigrants instead of our veterans?”

            1. Disgusted “DEI” vet*

              I always point to a killed habit for humanity housing project that was going to be built to be sold at cost to a low income vets. The local red city residents threw a fit so it was canceled.

              I’ve been so disillusioned by this country I was once willing to gave my life for.

            2. Irish Teacher.*

              I’ve taken to occasionally responding to these comments with something like, “well, if you are concerned for homeless veterans, the answer is to vote for parties and policies that reduce homelessness and don’t worry about their policies on immigration. There is no guarantee that a party that cuts supports for immigrants will use the money to support veterans – they might well use it to benefit big business – so there’s no point on concentrating on policies you don’t think should be the priority. Make sure you vote for to see the supports you do want.”

              I know it’s not going to get through to anybody who posts that stuff but it might make anybody reading who is thinking, “well, I’m for immigration but I guess I don’t want to see cuts to veterans’ benefits so maybe there are ‘arguments for both sides'” check to see if there really are.

    3. Reluctant Mezzo*

      Unless you’re IRS, then you’re stuck till May. (this strikes me as similar to what gays and lesbians in the military were told, ‘you have to stay in to invade Iraq and get shot at, but the moment we don’t need you, bye bye!’ No wonder there were *successful* lawsuits).

    4. Oyo Poyo*

      You and all of my other Fed friends going through this are in my thoughts. We’re going to lose hundreds, probably thousands, of years of institutional knowledge in one large cull. It’s devastating to think about.

  3. Constance Lloyd*

    I keep looking for the open thread only to remember it’s still a few days away. Right now it seems like we could fill an entirely separate second one focused on federal workers and contractors. Chaos.

    2. Sassafras*

      Check out reddit. My best friend who works for FEMA said their federal subreddits are the best sources of information.

      I learned about the Treasury takeover 2 days before the news broke from said friend who said it was all over reddit already and was dismayed there was no news on it.

  4. Maleficent2026*

    As a current federal employee, I need someone to post an old Reddit thread or something so I have a guidebook for what to expect from my job in 2025.

    1. Annie Edison*

      Allison published a letter from a Twitter employee who worked there when Elon took over- it’s one of the suggested posts at the bottom of this one. Click on “I work at Twitter… what do I do”

  5. Eric in NC*

    They’re trying to treat all federal workers the same way Trump has always treated his subcontractors.

      1. Goldenrod*

        Right?? Exactly, Powerpants!

        Anyone who resigns hoping they will actually receive some kind of payment has not being paying attention to the playbook. Or to Donald Trump’s entire history with contractors. Or to what happened at Twitter!

  6. Putting the Dys in Dysfunction*

    Who would want to accept a pig in a poke from people with a long history of fraud, bullying and broken promises?

  7. Chocoholic*

    People need to be calling their senators and representatives to put pressure on them to stop these shenanigans. If you have republican representation, you should ask how they would feel about this going on if it were Hillary Clinton’s friends with this kind of access.

    1. A Cita*

      The 5 Calls app makes it super easy, even for those of us who are phone shy. There was a great reddit thread from a high level senate staffer laying out why calling (and face-to-face) is much more affective than letters, texts, emails, or social media call outs. And had some great advice for those who feel phone shy. They say call every single day, relentlessly. Links are moderated so I’ll post that in another comment for those who want to read it.

      1. Lazuli*

        If you hate the phone, try after hours, many have voicemail! Also many have multiple offices to try if the first one has voicemail full.
        Hearteningly, my (R) senators’ mailboxes have been full more often than usual when I’ve called in the last 2 weeks. So someone is calling.

      2. Bertha Shirley*

        I am new to calling my representatives but just did it 2 days in a row using the 5 calls app. As someone new to this I have a question – can I call the same representative more than once about the same issue (I mean the next day, not the same day)? Can I bring up more than one issue on the same call?

        As someone who has a lot of phone anxiety I appreciate the 5calls app!

        1. A Cita*

          Hi Bertha, according to that reddit thread of instructions about calling your reps, they highly recommend keeping to one issue per call. If I recall correctly they even encourage calling twice a day! And yes, you definitely can called everyday about the same issue when the issue isn’t resolved! I hope that helps. It really helps me to hear others with a lot of phone anxiety saying the 5calls app helps!

    4. Insert Clever Name Here*

      Also, if you call their DC office number and get a busy signal or the voicemail is full, call their local office and leave the message there.

      And be nice to the poor staffer you talk to :)

    5. Texan In Exile*

      Just in case anyone else wants to just drop by their representative’s local office: Guess what unlike when your boss wants to see you, we as the boss have to make an appointment.

      Or at least that’s what the dozen or so of us who wanted to drop in on Ron Johnson’s Milwaukee office after lunch were told. (But they’re not answering the phones in the office.)

      1. metadata minion*

        I get how that’s frustrating, but yes, obviously you have to make an appointment? Especially if you want to talk to your actual Congressperson, who is probably not in the office at that particular moment.

        1. The Unspeakable Queen Lisa*

          I think you missed the part where they aren’t taking calls, so they can’t make an appointment. It’s a lie.

        2. violette*

          Talking to the legislative aide is just as effective, possibly more, than talking to the Rep or Senator directly. The person who smiles on the campagin trail is not the person who writes the text of the legislation, so the elected official does not need to be at the local office to make the visit worthwhile.

        3. Texan In Exile*

          Nope. I know Johnson doesn’t hang out in the Milwaukee office, but I wanted at least to talk to a staffer. They’re not answering phones and the voicemail is full.

          And about an appointment: I have wandered the halls in Madison and talked to my representative and the lt. governor without an appointment. We saw the WI governor when we were at Lake Superior last summer. He recognized my husband and crossed the street to say hi to him.

          This is a Johnson thing.

      2. run mad; don't faint*

        Several people of my acquaintance stopped by our reps’ local offices to talk to staffers today. They weren’t there, and it seems as if anyone who’s calling the local offices is only getting voicemail. We’re getting the impression they really want to avoid talking to anyone right now.

    6. pcake*

      Amen to that! Congress people are looking at an election next year, so I’d think they’d be the most concerned about re-election and therefore more likely to speak up if enough of the constituents contacted them.

    7. Wingo Staww*

      Sadly, my (R in a red state) representative doesn’t give a rat’s ass about us. He sent me some generic non-answer reply when I reached out with concerned about the Muskrat.

  8. Exme*

    Anyone have a link to reporting about the Twitter employees not getting paid when they took the offer before?
    I 100% believe it, just haven’t read about that part before.

    1. Exme*

      Oops, found it on the post from a few days ago. Those guys make a sport about not paying their bills.

      1. Ashley*

        Is there a different article? This lawsuit wasn’t about folks who took the buyout, it was about folks laid off in the rounds of layoffs that took place after the buyout. My understanding is that the twitter buyout offered 2 months of severance and employees who took it got their severance as a lump sum at the end of the 2 months. Which is a hardship FOR SURE but not what this law suit is about.

        1. fhqwhgads*

          My understanding is no one was paid what he said they’d be paid. The specifics weren’t quite the same with the buyout people vs the layoffs, but in both cases what he said they’d get was very different than what they got.

  9. anon to protect my sib*

    My sib works for the feds (DOJ, federal courts). They downloaded and also printed out every document in their personnel file — performance reviews, payroll info, tax info etc. Everything. A lot of folks did — word went around and it seemed wise.

  10. SadandScared*

    The scariest part about all this is the people who are unconcerned by all this and are handwaving it away. This is no big deal, my company gets audited by outside entities every so often. He is just checking to see where all our money is going. He’s not going to do anything with our money, it’s not like he needs more money.

    Companies write up and fire employees for data breaches significantly smaller than this every day. The government and many companies operate on need to know for private data. Even if you have access, you should not be looking if you don’t need to know.

    I won’t even get into the irony of demanding the identities of his crew be respected and they not be publicly identified even as he frequently doxxes Federal employees information on his social media site. It’s insanity.

    2. FricketyFrack*

      It’s wild to me that some people are still trying to pretend this is just a totally normal way to find waste (which to them means every penny that might help someone). Yeah, agencies can be audited, and should be, but this is in no way an audit and it’s not even remotely comparable, but an awful lot of conservatives – and bots pretending to be conservatives – are either willfully ignorant or lying to everyone including themselves. Absolutely bananas.

      1. Charlotte Lucas*

        And they’re targeting agencies with very low budgets/incidences of fraud or waste.

        And who trusts a bunch of little boys (sorry – recent graduates from… high school?!) to even understand what an agency does and doesn’t need to spend money on?

        State governments rely on funding from various federal agencies. I am not sure if that is common knowledge.

        1. XX*

          My job is in transportation engineering. I’m currently working on the final permitting for some (extremely necessary for structural reasons) roadwork – it’s a project commissioned by the county, adhering to state requirements, but paid for by federal grant. Do people even understand how much of the road infrastructure is maintained out of the fed’s pocket? What happens if these jagoffs suspend all that funding or even try to claw back what’s already been sent out? The construction industry will see a major downturn.

          1. PMaster*

            I administer local/subrecipient projects for a state transportation department so I deal with federal payments practically every day. We are already getting questions about near-term funding availability. All of the governors are going to raise hell if the big reimbursement spigot gets turned off.

          2. Tg33*

            I know very little about transportation except as a user. But the annoying thing about cutting funding like this is that the transport network is fine for a few years, but falls to pieces in 5 to 10 years when someone else has to pay to fix it.

          3. DefAnon*

            Same but in a different mode, and holding my breath to see how most of my projects are going to go. One in permitting like yours, one opening bids in about an hour, one 90% complete paid for by local municipality waiting for federal reimbursement this FY, one with multiple state and federal and private funding sources cobbled together in partnership with two federal agencies. It’s such a stressful mess.

        2. FricketyFrack*

          Hey now, some of them graduated from college! Not in anything even remotely relevant to what they’re doing now, and literally no one would be hired to audit a whole federal agency right away even if they did have relevant degrees, and they weren’t actually hired, they just sucked up to Elon or their parents are rich or both, but uh…I forgot where I was going with this.

      2. Anon For This*

        Yeah speaking as an auditor, that’s a LAUGHABLE comparison.

        All that “waste and fraud” language is complete bushwa as well, you can’t actually tell that without investigations. Rifling randomly through a budget tells you zilch. Pretending you found waste doing that tells me you’re either incompetent or lying.

        But I am well aware the average conservative commenter has no idea how any of this works, nor do they want to know.

        2. Sacred Ground*

          Obviously, the very first thing to do when auditing for waste and fraud is to fire all the Inspectors General at every department.

      3. WeirdChemist*

        It’s also wild that people are trying to push that this is all about “eliminating wasteful spending” but that also they’re legitimately going to follow through on paying the federal workforce to be on admin leave for 9 months!! Those are complete opposite things!! (I mean obviously they’re not going to actually follow through on the paying part of the Fork offer, but the number of bots online that are trying to push that they totallyyyyyy will is *wild*)

      4. frustrated worker*

        Also there are actual agencies that are tasked with fighting fraud, waste, and abuse. Every Department has an Inspector General. But Trump fired most of them a week ago.

      5. yeah....*

        I mean, yeah…government departments should be and are audited…and they report to the GAO…like, these people act like they are the first people to ever suggest government oversight, even though that is already baked into the system!

        Just because some random person isn’t aware of oversight doesn’t mean it isn’t happening. And those random, ignorant people sure as fuck should not be given the keys to the kingdom.

      6. A Cita*

        A lot of people who voted for him think that cutting the “waste” means lowering their taxes. They’re still anticipating their promised tax cut. They don’t realize that hollowing out services and institutions is to fund the billionaire tax cut. All we are getting is fewer essential services and safeguards AND higher taxes. The promised “tax cut” is not for me, for you, or for them. We’re paying for it.

        1. Media Monkey*

          from a UK POV, very much like the promised £330m extra per week going to the NHS if we stopped paying the EU. which was debunked the morning after Leave won by the group who said it. but hey, it was written on the side of a bus so it must be true, right?

    3. Cellbell*

      Yeah, I work for local government in a sanctuary city, and people seem both unaware and unconcerned about this, to the point where I’m starting to wonder if I’ve come unhinged. I think a lot of it is due to the (lack of) media coverage and it’s frustrating not having a great source to point at beyond “some guy on reddit,” though I did see a good piece in the Atlantic yesterday.

  11. Table Settings on a Path*

    To the Twitter OP: I’m not a federal worker but am a DC native and many of my friends and loved ones are Feds. As soon as the fork email dropped, I found myself referring to and referring other people to your AAM letter because it was so useful for showing others how the game plan works.

    I’m really grateful for you speaking up and creating that resource for me and for my family. It may feel like a little thing, but for us having that knowledge of how the game works helped us immensely with making informed decisions and preparing (as best we can) for whatever comes next. Thank you.

  12. Someone Online*

    I work for state government, not the federal, but I want to emphasize – we truly do not care whether our leadership is republican or democrat. We just care that they are competent and enable us to be good at our jobs. It’s called public service for a reason; we want to serve the public.
    Solidarity to our federal friends. I am calling my elected officials (on my breaks!) every day advocating for you.

    3. marmalade construct*

      I work in county government in an office where I am the opposite party to everyone in my department (including every single county-level elected official) and I agree. We just want our leaders to let us serve the public. Seeing all of this happening at the federal level (and some parts of it mirrored by my governor for the state level) is absolutely heartbreaking.

  13. Rebecca Fisher*

    My heart is breaking for all of the federal employees who were just doing their job, legally and ethically, and are now on the firing line. Partly because I am also a government employee. Though not federal (I work for a California county), I am on pins and needles, wondering how this will eventually play out as it rolls down the proverbial hill. Especially given just how much my state is adored by this new/old administration. (Inset eye roll here.) I’ve been doing this work for 30 years, and even during the recession and COVID, I was never truly scared of what may happen. My employer is already holding various training sessions with county counsel on what to do under certain circumstances (ICE agents at our sites, being asked/told to let someone in to our systems who does not have the authority to access sensitive information, etc.), based on what we’ve seen at the federal level in the last couple of weeks, but the question of what the next four years will actually look like — no one can really answer that. We don’t even know if we will have jobs, since a significant part of what we do is funded by some of the very federal agencies under attack. We just know it is going to be very, very bad. And we aren’t even a month in.

    1. Margaret Cavendish*

      That sounds awful and destabilizing – which of course is exactly the point. I’m so sorry you’re all going through this.

    1. Numbat*

      Does anyone have ideas on what effective things we can DO from the other side of the world? Aside from trying to stop our own woeful leadership trying to emulate Trump and Co, of course…

  15. JF*

    preaching to the choir here by quoting the amazing Maya Angelo “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.”

    do not fall for The Fork!

  16. Tradd*

    Good thought and hugs all your way.

    As a customs broker, I’m dealing almost daily with FDA Import/compliance personnel. Suddenly one or two of my regular contacts are not answering email. There is no outgoing auto message. I hope they are wise and don’t fall for the trap.

  17. Parenthesis Guy*

    I have a friend taking the buyout. Their department isn’t popular with remaining leadership and their agency is likely to get gutted. Realistically, they’d be fired sooner rather than later anyway.

    Some people in the government don’t have good options.

    1. Ask a Manager* Post author

      If you wait to be fired/laid off, you’ll be eligible for unemployment, plus the contractually required government severance payments. If you quit, you could get nothing under the terms of this agreement.

      1. frustrated worker*

        The worry people have is that they will just not do the severance payments. And if you are newer, then you get a lot more paid out and health insurance is included (maybe).

        But I wouldn’t trust The Fork and I’m counting on severance if it comes to RIFs. I’d get somewhere around 30 weeks and I think there would be a lot of people who would go before me.

      2. DefAnon*

        Alison, I’ve been wondering about unemployment for federal workers. Does the federal government pay into the unemployment insurance funds to the states in which employees work? Or does federal have its own separate system? Or something else?

        1. Student*

          Employers pay both federal and state unemployment taxes, but benefits are administered by the states.

        1. DeeJay*

          In the same sense as when you call an organisation and get the message “Calls may be recorded”.

    3. Dr. QT*

      If they wait to be laid off, they will at least be eligible for unemployment. If they quit to take this offer, and then don’t actually get paid, they have nothing until whatever court case or arbitration gets settled.

    5. Someone Online*

      Reassure your friend that no reasonable hiring manager is going to hold getting fired from the federal government against them.

    6. One more thing*

      But isn’t the point that there is no actual buyout? The terms of the offer keep changing, and there’s zero guarantee that there’s payment attached to a resignation.

      Your friend may want to exercise caution. Musk and trump are both crooks who have stiffed those who worked for them. There’s a very good chance that this will play out exactly the same way.

    7. FricketyFrack*

      Tell them not to do it. There are no *good* options, but there are far worse options. Everything I’ve seen indicates that there’s no way people taking the buyout ever actually get it. Elon has zero authority to offer it, the terms have changed repeatedly so no one even really knows what the offer IS, and let’s be real, Congress isn’t likely to approve any kind of offer after the fact. Your friend is almost certainly better off holding out.

      1. Sola Lingua Bona Lingua Mortua Est*

        There are also decent chances the whole thing gets bogged down in lawsuits past the midterms, at which point impeachments may take it off the agenda permanently.

    8. yeah....*

      No one in the government has good options.

      But taking the buyout is probably the worst. Even Tim Kaine (who is still voting for some of Trump’s nominees!) was on the floor of the Senate warning people that it’s a scam.

      I really hope you friend winds up okay.

  18. daughter of a Fed*

    I can only assume that Elno Skum wants to earn the dubious distinction of being named AAM’s “Worst Boss of the Year” not once but twice. Although he does have plenty of competition this year already.

    1. Arrietty*

      He isn’t their boss though! He’s literally just some bloke who decided to pillage the government.

    2. Goddess47*

      I came to make the same point… I think it would be a first, to have the same person as ‘worst boss of the year’ twice…

  19. Fives*

    I’m trying to follow this as much as I can. How is Musk, who last I checked is not even federal gov’t, even offering this deferred resignation?

    2. Slightly Less Evil Bunny*

      He’s now been named a ‘special government employee’. So I guess technically he *is* in the federal government. (grrrr)

      That still doesn’t give him ANY authority to do any of the crap he’s doing.

      1. Msd*

        What about all his minions? Are the six 19-24 year olds they talk about? There also have to be many more doing this analysis.

    3. FashionablyEvil*

      None of it’s legal. The federal government is only funded through mid-March. They can’t promise money that isn’t appropriated. The whole thing is a complete shit show.

  20. Laura1*

    I’ve been seeing headlines that trump wants to sell off half of government office buildings, so that’s not that farfetched.

    1. Llellayena*

      Yeah…keep the more “traditional” looking ones because HE likes the style and doesn’t like the more modern buildings. Of course, those “modern” buildings are the ones that have spatial, energy and accessibility efficiencies that the older “traditional” buildings don’t. So go back to when our office buildings prevented a comfortable and accessible working environment and only held 1/3 the staff…when you’ve already reduced the staff by 3/4 because of all the buildings you got rid of…

      1. Jamie Starr*

        keep the more “traditional” looking ones because HE likes the style and doesn’t like the more modern buildings

        OMG. This is so Nazis and “degenerate” art. They hated modern art and architecture.

      2. DeeJay*

        He’s ranted about the new US embassy building in London being a bad deal when in fact as a property tycoon he should recognise it’s actually a very good one. But it was done on Obama’s watch so…

  21. yeah....*

    As soon as we got that first phishy email from OPM it was clear that the USA is about to become Twitter 2.0. I messaged my union immediately to say that I expected us all to get a “push the button to stay if you are hardcore or otherwise resign” message soon.

    I think a lot about Twitter and Twitter LW these days. Twitter was such a vibrant, useful, valuable community and company before the takeover. Now it’s a worthless haven for nazis.

  22. MollyGodiva*

    The language in the “offer” that you sign to do this “buyout” waives all of the rights of the employee and protects all rights of the government. It also bans any recourse if the government violates the terms.

  23. Sloanicota*

    To me one of the most crazy parts is the online purge. I just checked a “women of the ISS” page on NASA’s website, which I had visited before, and it was deleted. Only accessible at the wayback link now. Hard to think that was hurting anyone, just celebrating some kickass women :(

    1. State worker*

      At the NSA museum they covered exhibits of women and people of color. Apparently this was staff taking the DEI ban to its logical conclusion.

    3. Salsa Verde*

      My employer is a contractor for NASA and we have scrubbed all of our web pages, internal and external, of any mention of DEI as well as removed the words diversity, equity or inclusion anywhere on any of the websites.

      The leaders are definitely complying in advance because we are not government employees, we are contractors, and they don’t want the DOGE to pull the entire contract because of any mention of DEI.

      We had a lunar new year celebration scheduled this week, and that was also canceled.
      Very scary stuff.

    4. A Significant Tree*

      West Point also did something similar. It’s so disappointing to see these major and influential institutions just … caving like this. Obviously they were only honoring women and BIPOC because of the evil DEI agenda, not because they were, are, and will continue to be inherently valuable members of any organization. /s Mediocracy*, not meritocracy.

      * Is actually a real word, I had to look it up but it means exactly what you think: “a dominant class consisting of mediocre people, or a system in which mediocrity is rewarded.”
      “a mediocracy of successful careerists and yes-men”

  24. HB*

    I just want to say Kudos to the HR official for immediately confirming the employee’s take rather than trying to hem, haw, and generally obfuscate.

  25. Shiny Penny*

    I’m calling and leaving voicemails for my senators and representative. The 5calls.org website has been really helpful organizing coherent thoughts beyond “omg make it stop.”
    5Calls says to leave your name and your street address, but my senator’s message only asks for your name and county so I didn’t leave my address.
    Does anyone know what the minimum ID needed really is, for your call to “count?”

    1. Ancient Mariner*

      It may vary by location, but when I called my rep here in Southern California, the guy on the phone just asked for my name and zip code.

    2. metadata minion*

      Especially if you’re calling for your representative, zip code will help to confirm that you’re in their district.

    3. The Gollux, Not a Mere Device*

      When I called my rep yesterday, the voicemail asked for my name, zip code, and phone number.

      Only part of this zip code is in her district, but if they care enough to check, I’m registered to vote from this address.

      1. Oniya*

        Could possibly include your voting district along with your name, zip, and phone. Considering the shapes of some of those districts, it’s not likely to end up doxxing you more than the other info.

    4. MsMaryMary*

      I know Congresspeople want to hear from constituents and it’s not helpful to call people if you don’t live in their district/state. But I live in a red state in a very blue zip code. We’re well known as one of the most liberal towns in the state and neither of my Senators got many votes here. Could leaving my zip code hurt rather than help?

      In the past when leaving advocacy VMs for Republicans I’ve kind of mumbled my zip. The first two numbers are clear. The others?

      1. Shiny Penny*

        I’m actually planning to call the Republicans running congress, as well as calling my own reps. I’m not their direct constituent, but we are all citizens of the USA! They seem ok with supporting the destruction of our government, and I figure I’m going to at least tell them it’s a problem for me as a citizen.
        Also planning to try calling the Supreme Court. I mean, where are they?
        At least I can make a tiny bit of noise…

      2. fhqwhgads*

        Thing is, if you don’t say your zip, they ignore you because you’re not their constituent. You give your zip and they know you’re in the blue part, maybe they ignore you because of it or maybe they don’t because you’re still their constituent.

  26. Msd*

    Funny how all the supporters of DOGE and the current administration have forgotten their outrage over “Lock her up” Hillary’s single email server. Guess it’s ok for all these non government folks to have access to critical systems and data.
    The real issue is that of course they will find some issues. Any system as large as the federal government will have problems but those problems will be overblown as to their scale/impact and used as justification for their actions. Probably no mention of years of underfunding. Hmm this comment will probably get deleted for too political. Hang in there federal workers!

  27. roisin54*

    I have relatives in the DC area whose jobs rely on Federal funding, and they’re really freaked out right now. One of them works in the human rights field and they’re just heartbroken by everything that’s happening right now.

    As a municipal employee in a sanctuary city in a blue state, I’m just waiting for the [stuff] to roll downhill to us. Our mayor is already disliked by the new regime and I can’t even begin to imagine the ways they’ll try to punish her and the rest of us.

  28. Horrified Bystander*

    Hope this isn’t a dumb question (if it is forgive me, I’m not American): does Musk have the constitutional, legal authority to do these things? If not can people just say no, as if a person on street tried to arrest you like a cop would?

    1. metadata minion*

      This is not a dumb question!. There’s a lot of stuff going on right now that falls into an upsetting category of “this really should be illegal but it’s entirely possible that nobody bothered to make a law against something this bonkers”.

      1. I Have RBF*

        It’s illegal, but the ones who would enforce it are also captured agencies: The DoJ, OMB, etc. It’s the executive branch destroying the executive branch against the will of Congress – Congress established the agencies, like the EPA, USAID, etc. Accessing the data without a need to know at the Treasury is a $5000 fine per recortd, IIRC. But no one can enforce it, because FBI, DoJ, etc are also being purged.

    2. Paris Geller*

      I’m not a constitutional scholar or lawyer, but the issue is that even if Musk doesn’t have the legal authority to do these things (which I don’t think he does, but again, not an expert), he’s locking federal employees out of systems they use, and no one is stopping him. So why they might be able to SAY “no”, there might not be a whole lot each employee can do.

      1. Horrified Bystander*

        But hypothetically you could call the police and say hey, some weirdo just walked into my office and locked us out of our computers, no he’s not my boss he’s just some guy? I understand why people aren’t doing that, and that it probably wouldn’t work if you did, but is it technically true?

        1. Kali*

          Oof. I keep trying to answer this question and deleting it. Basically, no? Question mark???

          With the caveat that I’m not Metro PD (which has a weird local/state/federal jurisdiction by virtue of DC not being a state), if you called me and said there’s some strange dude in the building, I would show up… and probably not be able to do anything. Elmo has the head of the entire federal government on speed dial – he’s given Elmo permission to do all these things which break lots of regulatory and civil laws (which police don’t deal with) and be on the property (so it’s not trespassing). He probably is breaking criminal laws, but it’s all so shrouded in secrecy, that I wouldn’t be able to point to any law to take him into custody. (At the very least, I’d have to do an investigation, which is likely far beyond my or any local law enforcement’s capability and security clearance.) I’d have to refer the matter to the FBI – the most likely people with jurisdiction – and they’re being hollowed out as we speak by the same guys.

          The foxes are in the henhouse, and the dogs are locked up in the barn.

          1. Rodentia*

            Trump also tried to give Musk and DOGE secrecy from FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) so that journalists and investigators cannot shine any daylight on their illegal actions. As they’re invading and taking over offices, they’re also covering their tracks:

            “Employees working for the agency now known as DOGE have been ordered to stop using Slack while government lawyers attempt to transition the agency to one that is not subject to the Freedom of Information Act, 404 Media has learned.”

        2. kt*

          This actually happened (calling security). Musk threatened to bring in the US Marshals, called some higher ups, and the director and deputy director for USAID are now fired and the Trump-appointed security guy resigned.

          The Inspector General for the USDA, Phyllis Fong, just kept showing up to work after her illegal firing and she was perp-walked out.

          So far, no one is backing any of the people who have the cojones to stand up to Musk et al.

    4. Jasmine Clark*

      It’s not a dumb question. The answer is that for certain people, laws and the Constitution do not matter. For example, take a look at the current president. How many laws has he broken? How many times has he violated the Constitution? And yet he became president again anyway, giving him a great deal of authority to break even more laws. Oh well. As for Elon, he is the richest person in the world. His net worth is over 400 billion dollars. He doesn’t have to do silly things like follow laws. That’s beneath him.

    5. State worker*

      Congress is supposed to be the “check” on the President but it is majority Republican and they’re just letting their Congressional powers be usurped.

      1. Media Monkey*

        but surely they don’t want their powers taken away? or are they just too scared for their own jobs that they won’t say anything?

        1. pamela voorhees*

          I think that you’re seeing power as being vested in them by their office, but most Republican congresspeople see power as the ability to command attention. They’re entirely willing to have the power vested in them by the office taken away if they gain the power to command attention (ie: go on some rightwing podcast, talk about the great work they’re part of, and say something completely wild that gets repeated and shared). The second part is also accurate — most of the Congresspeople live in districts where an opposing party isn’t a serious challenge, so the only way they lose their seat is if someone challenges them from the right. Being as extreme as possible (and silent when you can’t tolerate being extreme) is a way to keep their job.

        2. Head Sheep Counter*

          They cannot find their spines and their heads are stuffed so far within the new emperor they can see through his mouth.

    6. Sad Engineer Mom*

      Correct, he doesn’t have the authority technically, but at this point it’s like traffic laws. You legally have to stop at red lights, but no one is physically stopping you from driving through the intersection anyway

  30. Jasmine Clark*

    I went back and read the “I work at Twitter…” post and the two updates. It’s so scary to read about that person’s experience working at Twitter when Elon took over. It’s scary because what happened back then is awful, but the same thing is happening again and this time it’s to the entire country.

  31. Aphrodite*

    I just checked out Pro Publica and they are asking for people to contact them:

    During Donald Trump’s second presidency, ProPublica will focus on the areas most in need of scrutiny. Here are some of the issues our reporters will be watching — and how to get in touch with them securely.

    If you don’t have a specific tip or story in mind, we could still use your help. Sign up to be a member of our federal worker source network (https://www.propublica.org/tips/federal-workers/) to stay in touch.

  32. Hamilton*

    What is that loser’s obsession with moving beds into workplaces and why do his sycophants always go with it? At the very least, why can’t they grow some self respect for once and laugh in his face when he’s dragging a Serta around the office? Of all the people that should be deported forever, no takebacks, that racist a-hat is number 1.

    Also, if anyone is planning on a strike or a march or a large scale resistance effort: keep that noise OFF Facebook/*instagram*/etc. If you must post about it on those places, don’t share the real dates or locations. That’s like handing out engraved invitations to our new thugs in charge to like, please come arrest you and retaliate against you and your loved ones. Do not assume that freedom of speech or freedom of assembly is actually a guarantee anymore. Sometimes, organize and disseminate information the way our ancestors did—offline.

    1. I Have RBF*

      Signal is a great way to have encrypted comms, and you can set messages to disappear in anything from hours to days. I encourage everyone to switch to Signal for text messaging, even if all you do is text your bestie on when you can come over fort dinner.

    2. perstreperous*

      To answer your questions (from thousands of miles away):

      1. Some notion about “hard work”.

      2. Because they are young (at least, those who have been publicly named).

      The second point I have never seen raised elsewhere. Misuse of subordinates to do objectionable things because they feel they have to fit in and – bluntly – have a mortgage to pay – has been a big topic of this Web site from time to time. (Case in point … “my boss made me leave a work note at a grave”).

    3. Wingo Staww*

      Well, he is a rich little boy who was never told “NO”…

      We’re seeing the most evil, pathetic people being empowered. Remember those who sit silently and complacent…

    1. A Cita*

      A friend’s family member took the deal. It’s so sad because there is no deal in all likelihood.

  34. Benefitting*

    I don’t get what their end game is. With Twitter that is private business. so Elon could pocket any increased profits from laying off workers.

    But there is no profit to increase in the federal government. So what’s the point.

    I really don’t think either of them actually care one bit about the taxpayers so it can’t be for their benefit. I also don’t think they are making a constitutional point about the over expansion of the commerce clause.

    Their benefiting financially somehow

    2. J E*

      I think it’s a bit like a private equity takeover. They don’t have any interest in having government function. They will begin outsourcing parts to profit-seeking companies owned by their billionaire sponsors. They want to strip-mine the country for whatever they can.

      Taxpayers will pay more, fed unions will be busted, and the labor market will be flooded with a million former Fed employees.

    3. Wingo Staww*

      They are eliminating all government agencies, then recreating them in the private sector for profit.

      I recommend reading Project 2025, it truly does outline their plans for every single department.

      1. Fragrant Moppet*

        They’re going beyond Project 2025 now. It never called for USAID to be eliminated, for example, and in fact said the agency was key to staving off China’s influence in the world. There are many people who are quietly concerned that more things will be going awry as well, though enough people are happy with this that I’m not sure it will make much of a difference.

    4. Avocadoanon*

      I was explaining this to my mom. Many moderately wealthy countries have national healthcare. The US does not, with some exceptions. Without a government foundation for healthcare, US citizens 1) don’t receive it, 2) pay for it from private, for-profit companies, or 3) receive medical funding via charity (GoFundMe, religious orgs and donors).

      Ok, apply that to everything the US government currently covers since Republicans want to drown a tiny government in a bathtub. Education, public transportation, food and drug safety… 1) the service will no longer be accessible, 2) Americans will have to pay private, unregulated for-profit companies for it, or 3) hope that a generous billionaire likes you enough to cover your costs.

      They want #2.

  36. Fed sibling*

    One thing my sister said that I haven’t seen mentioned here (admittedly I didn’t read every comment in the first thread) is that telework and remote work are actually two different things. She said teleworkers have an assigned duty station, but for remote workers, their duty station is their house. It would be easier to force teleworkers back to the office, but remote workers don’t actually have an office to go back to.

    1. 2 Cents*

      I feel like that distinction is beyond Musk, who never seems to work in any of the many offices he runs.

  37. The Gollux, Not a Mere Device*

    The latest from Jeremy Faust at Inside Medicine is that one of his sources at the CDC tried to accept the buyout offer, and has no idea if anyone got his request:

    CDC source: Nothing. It’s like…Did they even get it? I didn’t get a damn thing.

    Inside Medicine: Wait, so you don’t know even if you managed to quit or not? Whether you will get the money they promised?

    CDC source: Yeah. It’s like I’m trying to resign, but it’s not working out. I feel like they ghosted me. Can I get an emoji at least?

    Inside Medicine: So, what are you doing now?

  38. ADHDFox*

    I highly recommend that everyone reads “Extremely Hardcore” by Zoë Schiffer, which tells the Twitter story.

  39. MistOrMister*

    VA Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine have both spoken about how Trump and Musk absolutely cannot make this buyout promise and how these people are not going to see a penny and to not take the deal!! I have seen some articles saying at least 20,000 workers have taken it and more are expected and I just don’t see how anyone could do so. Its one thing to be laid off or fired by these people or to quit on your own terms. But taking this offer with the expectation that you are going to be given a safety net is not a good idea and I really hope most workers stay firm in not accepting the so-called deal.

  40. Irish Teacher.*

    Looking from abroad, I just wanted to say that this site is the only place I am hearing of this. I guess it makes sense that our news isn’t all that interested in the internal employment issues in the US – they are far more concerned about him trying to bring American businesses in Ireland back to the US – but I just wanted to say thank you all for the information.

    I’m not sure there’s much we can do from over here. I’m pretty sure Trump wouldn’t even listen to our government even if they would risk conflict with the US, which I doubt. But nonetheless, it’s good to be as informed as possible.

    1. Wingo Staww*

      I am grateful that you are watching from Ireland. We love the Irish people (my ancestry is 3/4 Irish and I felt so welcome in your country when I visited). You have a strong history of fighting injustice and boy, there is some insane injustice happening here in the US….

    2. perstreperous*

      kottke.org (blog) has switched over completely to US federal government events because the author considered that they were being insufficiently covered.

      At least in the UK, media take very little interest in what happens inside companies or governments, probably because it is hard to investigate. Everything is about external impacts.

    3. State worker*

      Internationally, people are making their voices heard and fighting for their interests. The tariffs are on hold after Canada and Mexico pushed back. Panamanians are protesting. Greenland is planning an independence vote. Every bit of resistance helps.

  41. Fluffy Fish*

    In general it’s a good rule of thumb not to trust anything coming from people with a habit of lying and other unethical behavior.

    1. Not your friend, pal*

      It doesn’t matter if the offer is really coming from Trump or from Musk, because both have a history of reneging on their offers.

  42. Wingo Staww*

    I am not a fed worker but I work in government contracts. I am furious that our company leadership hasn’t even acknowledged what is going on in the federal government. I understand that things are uncertain, but my goodness, it would go a long way to assure your (over 50% female and minority) employees that DEI is still valued at the company and that our work is still seen as important. We are terrified.

  43. JJJJ*

    Back a few years ago, when Musk bought Twitter and then tried to back out of the deal, I found great satisfaction in him being forced to follow through with his commitment (note: I never used Twitter). Now, I wish he’d been allowed to back out after all. Maybe that would have kept Twitter as it was intact and kept what’s happening now from occurring.

  44. Anonbydesign*

    I’m a fed and just want to say thanks to the kind words of the twitter poster and to Alison posting helpful resources. I plan on holding on to my job as long as I can. I work with a wonderful group of people, and we are all in jobs where we could make way more in the private sector but we are feds because we want to be in civil service and love what we do.

  45. 2 Cents*

    As Admiral Ackbar would say, “It’s a trap!” I really feel for all the government workers. Have I made government worker jokes over the years? Of course. (I’ve also made jokes about my own profession.) But I also rely on you all for so much. Elon is a curse and a disease and an unelected maniac. (Bad enough half the country elected 1 maniac.) Please don’t believe his BS.

  46. DJ*

    Thank YOU ex twitter employee for posting both your experiences with twitter and for your advice and support of federal workers.
    Hopefully a smart employment lawyer firm will hold group information sessions over zoom and organise a class action to get the dodgy payout offer sorted.
    None of you deserve to be treated the way you have.
    Conservative govts in my country have acted fairly quickly to lay off staff but it was a process over a few months and redundancy offers were legitimate and by the regulations.

  47. Head Sheep Counter*

    If you don’t follow AltNationalParks… its worth considering a follow. They have been reporting on all of the Musk rampage since it started.

  48. Lowecat*

    I feel for the federal employees being in limbo and fear like this.
    Just saw on news that a judge put a temporary hold on the buy out plan to Monday.
    It sounds great to quit and get paid for eight months, but one needs to remember the past history of the individual making said offer. That person has a LONG history of not paying contractors what they’re owed. Just because this person occupies the Oval Office doesn’t mean that he won’t fall into past character and not pay.
    Best thing to do is refuse the offer, polish up the resume, file for unemployment the minute you lose your job, and start applying to jobs in the private sector while waiting for the hammer to drop.

  49. Mr. Spock*

    It pains me to see how WaPo reporters, in common with too many other people who should know better, are still enabling Musk by posting on Twitter, which he owns.

    There is only one thing now that should ever be posted on Twitter, which is: ‘We are no longer using this platform. Please continue to follow us on ‘.

Comments are closed.