President Donald Trump's new tool for reshaping the federal government is a relatively obscure agency, the Office of Personnel Management. The agency has offered millions of federal workers eight months of salary if they voluntarily choose to leave their jobs by Feb. 6. The unconventional plan shows both Trump's desire to bring the bureaucracy under control and the downsizing tendencies of Elon Musk, the multibillionaire Trump supporter who is leading the president's Department of Government Efficiency.
A closer look at OPM:. What is the OPM?. Created in 1979 under President Jimmy Carter, the OPM is the equivalent of the government's human resources department. It helps manage the civil service, including pay schedules, health insurance and pension programs. The U.S. Office of Government Ethics was spun off from OPM in 1989.
As the OPM website notes, the agency’s roots go back to 1883 with the Civil Service Act. That law established merit-based hiring for many government workers, replacing a system that was previously prone to political patronage. Trump has argued that the bureaucracy in its current formation is not responsive enough to his agenda, leading him to want to install federal officials who will implement his plans as instructed.
What does the OPM offer to employees say?. Slugged “Fork in the Road,” the OPM email is officially a “deferred resignation offer.” Federal workers outside the military, immigration enforcement, national security and the U.S. Postal Service received the email. Those who accept will receive their pay and benefits through the end of September without having to work. Federal employees can accept the offer by typing “Resign” in the subject line of the response.
