More than 100,000 federal employees are scheduled to officially resign on Tuesday as part of the Trump administration’s newest deferred resignation initiative. This marks the largest single-year decline in civilian federal employment since World War Two.

The resignations come as Congress faces a Tuesday deadline to approve additional funding or risk a government shutdown. The White House has instructed federal agencies to prepare contingency plans for mass terminations if bipartisan negotiations fail to reach an agreement.

According to a report issued by Senate Democrats in July, the deferred resignation program is expected to cost $14.8 billion. It covers up to eight months of full salary and benefits for 200,000 employees placed on administrative leave.

Trump administration officials have defended the expenditure. The Office of Personnel Management stated that the one-time costs would reduce long-term federal spending. The agency also criticised federal job protections, arguing that the government should adopt a "modern, at-will employment model like most employers."

A White House spokesperson said the initiative involves "no additional cost to the government" because employees would have been paid their salaries regardless. "In fact, this is the biggest and most successful workforce reduction plan in history and will save the government $28bn every year," the spokesperson added.

The total number of anticipated departures through deferred resignation, voluntary separation, attrition, and early retirement programs is roughly 275,000, the spokesperson said.

Thousands more federal employees have been terminated through reduction-in-force orders issued by the administration. Those who accepted the deferred resignation offer requested anonymity to protect future employment prospects and maintain the possibility of returning to federal service.

"Federal employees remain for the mission. When that mission is removed, when they're scapegoated, when their job security is put into jeopardy, and when their minuscule sense of work-life balance is removed, they depart," said a veteran Federal Emergency Management Agency employee. "That's why I did."

Departing employees are entering a challenging job market. The unemployment rate reached 4.3 per cent in August 2025, the highest since 2021, with only 22,000 jobs added amid disruptions caused by Trump administration tariffs.

A Department of Veterans Affairs employee who accepted the deferred resignation described leaving as difficult. "It's an enormous grieving process," the employee said. "Myself and many people that I know very much wished that we would be able to complete our careers within the government. We felt very bonded, particularly within the VA, to the mission."

The employee added that finding new work has been challenging. "The job market sucks right now," they said. "It's wonderful not to be working 60 to 70 hours a week anymore, but you lose your support system from those who remained, and from those who might judge you for quitting."

A US Department of Agriculture archaeologist and former military member said they "loved" their work but accepted the deferred resignation due to fear of the administration. "I was compelled to take the resignation plan. Not physically, or legally, but through intimidation and fear," they said.

The USDA employee referenced comments from Russell Vought, Trump’s head of the Office of Management and Budget, last October, "When they get up in the morning, we want them to not want to go to work, because they are increasingly seen as the villains. We want their funding to be closed down … We want to put them in trauma."

"This is what I exactly did," the USDA employee said. "I was afraid to report to work. Afraid that the following day would be the day when I would be fired, or restricted from future service, afraid I would wait too long to quit and not be able to find employment, and just existing each day like a raw nerve."

Another USDA worker, who was terminated in February as a probationary employee and reinstated in April before accepting the deferred resignation, said, "At that time, I felt like they could fire me whenever they wanted. It's difficult to concentrate on your job when they can just send you an email and you can be gone, and they totally altered the terms of my employment. I had hoped things would quiet down and there would be a chance to return, but now it doesn't appear there will be a chance."

The American Federation of Government Employees and other unions representing federal workers filed a lawsuit earlier this year over the deferred resignation program. The legal action claims that the buyout bypasses congressional authority, undermines statutory government functions, and was implemented under threat of termination.

"Purging the federal government of committed career federal workers will have far-reaching, unforeseen consequences that will wreak havoc on the Americans who rely upon an operational federal government," AFGE president Everett Kelley said in February. "This offer should not be considered voluntary."

"Between the flurry of anti-worker executive orders and policies, it is clear that the Trump administration's desire is to make the federal government a toxic workplace where workers won't be able to remain even if they want to stay," Kelley added.