WASHINGTON — At least six federal agencies are offering workers a new "deferred resignation" opportunity in the latest attempt by the Trump administration to slash the size of the U.S. government.
Employees at the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Agriculture Department on Monday night received emails, which were obtained by NBC News, presenting them with the option to resign while staying on paid leave for several months. Transportation Department employees received a similar notice about the program Tuesday morning, according to an email obtained by NBC News.
Spokespersons for the General Services Administration and the Energy Department told NBC News that the deferred resignation program was opening up to its eligible employees as well, and the Defense Department said its civilian workforce received a similar offer Friday.
The White House has said about 75,000 federal workers accepted the administration's first offer.
The first deferred resignation program allowed workers to resign now but get paid through September. The new programs are similar.
Not every USDA worker is eligible for the program, depending on whether their position is considered critical, according to the email USDA employees received. Certain employees at the Transportation Department are also ineligible, including public safety workers at places like the Federal Aviation Administration.
The letter sent to Energy Department employees said the program was being instituted "to mitigate the effect of potential involuntary separations" and allow employees "to take needed time for future planning while continuing to be paid through the designated period."
The Housing Department program has stipulations for employees planning to retire in the fall, according to the email HUD workers received.
The first "deferred resignation" proposal — sent weeks before government funding was set to expire — sparked confusion over whether employees who took the offer could expect payments from agencies whose budgets had not been set past mid-March.
"During the initial opt-in period for DRP, many employees expressed concerns about the validity of the program because agencies were under a temporary continuing resolution through March 14, 2025," read the email sent to HUD employees and obtained by NBC News, referring to government funding and the abbreviation for the deferred resignation program. "This uncertainty may have prevented some employees from taking advantage of the program."
"Since passage of a full-year continuing resolution, many employees have asked if the program would be available again," the HUD email continued.
In a memo Friday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed his team to implement another deferred resignation program. A news release published Saturday said the program was being “reopened for nearly all DOD civilians.” There were about 900,000 DOD civilian workers before the first program, according to the release.
"My intent is to maximize participation so that we can minimize the number of involuntary actions that may be required to achieve the strategic objectives," Hegseth said in the memo, according to the release.
The deadline for workers to accept the offer is Monday for Transportation Department employees, April 8 for Agriculture Department and Energy Department employees and April 11 for HUD employees, according to the emails. The GSA spokesperson told NBC News that the agency’s eligible employees can opt into the program through April 18. The Defense Department declined to provide further details on the deadline for opting into its program.
While emails about the first version of the program had been sent through a system that allowed the administration to contact all federal employees at once, the new deferred resignation letters were specific to the will of each agency and not dictated by the Office of Personnel Management, according to an administration official.
Emails about the first version of the program were initially sent in January but were quickly challenged in court. A federal judge in February ultimately allowed the program to move forward after temporarily halting it.
Full-time federal employees across the U.S. government were eligible for the first program, with exceptions. Members of the military, U.S. Postal Service employees and workers who held positions related to immigration enforcement, national security and certain other jobs were ineligible.
In a separate effort spearheaded by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, the Health and Human Services Department is also carrying out massive layoffs this week.
Megan Lebowitz and Ted Oberg reported from Washington and Daniel Arkin from New York City.
