One day after President Donald Trump proposed offering buyouts to the entire federal workforce, House Speaker Mike Johnson expressed his support for the plan.
President Trump's plan would allow federal workers to resign but remain on the government payroll through September 30. The Trump administration has stated it wants to shrink the size of the government. It also has vowed to end work-from-home practices.
But it's unclear whether President Trump has the power to offer unilateral buyouts of federal employees. When asked by Scripps News about whether he is comfortable with thousands of workers on payroll while not doing any work, Johnson said, "Drastic times call for drastic measures, and they've been doing this for four years under the Biden administration."
Johnson said this is an example of President Trump "thinking outside of the box."
"They had full license apparently to not come to work, and it's a terrible frustration for us and for the American people and because it's civil service laws," he said. "This is not like a private company, it should be that way, but it's not."
Johnson believes the plan would cut billions from the federal budget.
"They estimate that maybe 5 to 10% of the federal workforce will take their golden parachute," he said. "Fantastic, I hope they do. But if the estimate is if 5 to 10% leave, you can save $100 billion for taxpayers."
The American Federation of Government Employees, which represents 800,000 federal workers, voiced its opposition to buyouts.
"The number of civil servants hasn't meaningfully changed since 1970, but there are more Americans than ever who rely on government services," said AFGE National President Everett Kelley. "Purging the federal government of dedicated career civil servants will have vast, unintended consequences that will cause chaos for the Americans who depend on a functioning federal government. This offer should not be viewed as voluntary. Between the flurry of anti-worker executive orders and policies, it is clear that the Trump administration's goal is to turn the federal government into a toxic environment where workers cannot stay even if they want to.”
