Staff Reports
The Trump administration chose to take the axe to the bloated federal workforce, offering an enticing buyout to workers willing to jump ship before February 6. While many might view this as a golden opportunity to escape governmental shackles, a collection of Democratic state attorneys general has swooped in, clutching their pearls and cautioning employees to think twice before cashing in on what they deem a “misleading” severance package.
The Democratic AGs, armed with a flair for the dramatic, expressed their concerns that the terms of this “generosity” are as trustworthy as a three-dollar bill. They allege this initiative is nothing but an unwarranted assault on the integrity of the federal government and its hard-working employees. In their mind, it’s just another dastardly deed by Trump aimed at wreaking havoc on the public service sector.
DOGE: Federal workers have been inundated by texts from NGOs warning them not to accept Trump's buyout offer claiming that Trump will renege on the deal after they have resigned. So far 40,000 have ignored the texts and taken the deal. The deadline to accept is midnight. pic.twitter.com/Q7u812PXCT
— @amuse (@amuse) February 6, 2025
When Trump first took office, his Office of Personnel Management sent out a memo to a whopping 2 million federal employees, suggesting they resign or retire in exchange for full pay and benefits through September. In stark contrast, federal employee unions, whose primary goal appears to be retaining every last worker even beyond retirement age, were quick to oppose this overture.
Reports indicate that around 20,000 workers—roughly 1% of the federal workforce—have accepted the buyout so far. Of course, this is still far from the White House’s ambitious target of 5-10%. But given the chorus of looming denunciations from Democratic AGs like New York’s Letitia James, this number may not climb as high as the administration hoped. James went beyond mere concern, suggesting that taking the buyout could lead to a bureaucratic apocalypse, reducing service quality for Americans and causing untold chaos.
The coalition of Democrats isn’t stopping at the Big Apple. Twelve states are now vying for the title of “most dramatic” in warning their federal employees against what they regard as Trump’s benevolence. They equate the buyout offer to a ticking time bomb, ready to detonate personal livelihoods and federal services. Each AG rattles off cautionary tales about reading the fine print, working with unions, and generally avoiding any semblance of personal agency when it comes to their careers.
Perhaps the most comedic moment comes from New Jersey AG Matthew Platkin, who pivoted from discussing the buyout to Elon Musk, Trump’s tech-savvy ally. Platkin seems to believe that Musk’s influence could turn federal employees into putty in the billionaire’s hands, which appears to misconstrue the robust protections civil servants typically enjoy. Between Musk and Trump, it sounds like federal employees are powerless pawns in a high-stakes game of chess designed to bring government services to their knees.
Instead of taking a moment to appreciate a potential opportunity to exit the quagmire of endless bureaucratic red tape, these AGs would have their constituents cling tightly to their government jobs as if they were gift-wrapped life vests on the Titanic. The irony in chastising the buyout offer is thick enough to cut with a knife, as those very employees could be reeling from an experience far worse than a shrinking paycheck—such as stagnation in a system designed to keep them at a desk until retirement.
