Federal government employs thousands in WA. What if they take Trump’s ‘buyout’ offer?
A federal judge has paused a controversial deferred resignation program for federal workers pending a legal challenge from unions representing them, the Washington Post reported Thursday.
The offer, extended with a Thursday, Feb. 6 deadline, allows federal employees to leave their jobs voluntarily and be paid through Tuesday, Sept. 30, according to Government Executive.
“If you resign under this program, 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,” the U.S. Office of Personnel Management memo states.
The deferred resignation offer is part of a larger effort by the Trump administration to levy heavy cuts across the federal government, with the president already issuing executive orders freezing hiring and already-accepted job offers and recalling remote workers to the office to prompt further cuts.
The federal government employs more than 2 million civilians who live and work in every U.S. state and territory, including in Washington state.
How many federal workers does Washington have?
According to data from the Congressional Research Service, Washington has over 56,000 federal civilian workers as of Dec. 2024. That figure does not include federal contractors or uniformed military personnel, including those who work at Joint Base Lewis-McChord or Naval Base Kitsap, for example.
Most of the Evergreen State’s federal civilian workers are in Washington’s 10th Congressional District, which is home to Lewis-McChord and includes portions of Thurston and Pierce Counties. Washington’s Employment Security Department notes that it is Pierce County’s largest public employer.
What impact would reductions in the federal workforce have on WA?
What impact could the federal job cuts have on Washington state’s economy? When it was announced less than two weeks ago, U.S. Senator Patty Murray urged federal civilian employees to pause and carefully consider.
“First, there is no guarantee workers who accept this offer will get paid through September 30 as promised,” Murray noted. “The lack of clear information and resources about exactly what will be allowed is rightfully creating confusion for the more than 56,000 federal workers across Washington state. To me, this leaves far too many questions unanswered.”
Murray, who is the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, also pointed out that the funding to fulfill the deal on the government’s side just isn’t there.
“....right now, the federal government is only funded through March 14, 2025,” she noted.
Federal jobs buyout impact nationwide
In other states that also have thousands of federal employees, like Kentucky, they are asking similar questions. The state employs a little less than half as many federal civilian employees as Washington.
Jason Bailey, executive director of the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, calls the U.S. government one of Kentucky’s major employers, with workers offering critical services.
“This fact is little known, but it means that a cut in federal jobs will weaken our economy. It will also diminish critical services, as these workers do everything from supporting farmers to providing healthcare to veterans to helping retirees get their social security checks,” Bailey told the Herald-Leader in an emailed statement.
On the other hand, some economists see a minimal effect on the state’s economy as a whole.
Mike Clark is the director of the Center for Business and Economic Research and an associate professor at the University of Kentucky. Previously, he was the chief economist for the Kentucky Legislative Research Commission.
With the caveat that it’s unclear at this point how much the Trump administration wants to shrink the size of the federal government, Clark told McClatchy in a Feb. 5 interview the effect on Kentucky’s economy should be minimal.
“It’s relatively small in terms of the grand scheme of the economy… If they’re talking about half or getting rid of all of them, then that is certainly a larger impact, but if it’s 10, 20%, then it’s going to be a relatively small number,” Clark said.
This story was originally published February 6, 2025 at 11:26 AM.