The “deferred resignation program” feels less like an option and more like a test of loyalty. On paper, it offers full pay and benefits for months if employees quietly leave by February 6—but beneath the surface lies a harder question: who stays willingly, and who feels pressured out? With few D.C. staff returning to offices, the administration frames it as a necessary reset, trimming a remote-heavy bureaucracy. Supporters see overdue reform; critics see a velvet-gloved purge of experienced civil servants. The outcome could set a precedent for either modernization or the ease of reshaping government from the top down.
