Speaker Johnson: I Stand Behind Govt Worker Buyout

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., threw his support behind the Trump administration's plan to compensate federal workers in exchange for their resignation — a plan the Trump administration hopes will cut the spending and size of the federal government.

While speaking at a press conference during the House GOP's retreat to south Florida on Wednesday, Johnson said, according to The Hill, that federal employees have been getting paid but not working for "four years under the Biden administration. They had full license, apparently, to not come to work. And it's a terrible frustration for us and for the American people," the speaker added, referencing the remote work policy put in place amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

"This is not like a private company. It should be that way, but it's not," he continued. "The new president can't come in and just walk into an agency and say, 'You're all fired,' you know, which, that [would] probably be appropriate in some of these places. But he's not allowed to do that under the law."

Johnson then went on to commend the Trump administration, stating they were "thinking outside the box," and that the buyouts were "the right move."

"How can we address this problem," he noted, "if we can't fire people for lack of showing up for work? Well, let's give them the option to take a parachute. You know, we don't like that, but it's better than the alternative of having people not work and stay on the payroll."

On Tuesday, according to reports from NBC News and the Associated Press, the Office of Personnel Management, the government's human resources agency, emailed a memo to roughly 3 million federal workers requesting they type in their resignation as a response in exchange for an eight-month salary. The memo warned, however, that federal workers must decide by Feb. 6 as the Trump administration mulls further cuts to government.

The emailed memo read: "If you choose to remain in your current position, we thank you for your renewed focus on serving the American people to the best of your abilities and look forward to working together as part of an improved federal workforce.

"At this time, we cannot give you full assurance regarding the certainty of your position or agency but should your position be eliminated you will be treated with dignity and will be afforded the protections in place for such positions."

The memo also said that if federal workers choose to resign, "you will retain all pay and benefits regardless of your daily workload and will be exempted from all applicable in-person work requirements until September 30, 2025 (or earlier if you choose to accelerate your resignation for any reason)."

"Upon review of the below deferred resignation letter," the memo continued, "if you wish to resign: Select 'Reply' to this email. You must reply from your government account."

It added: "Type the word 'Resign' into the body of this email and hit 'send.'"

Pew Research noted in January that there are more than 3 million government employees, among which pay has increased steadily except for postal workers. However, that figure does not include the roughly 1.3 million in active duty military. Moreover, the average time spent at a federal post is 11.8 years.

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