Back before his first term began eight years ago, President Donald Trump promised the American electorate that, once in office, he would work steadfastly to "drain the swamp" in Washington, D.C., ostensibly referencing the tens of thousands of nameless, faceless federal bureaucrats who have no direct accountability to the American people.

Now in February 2025, it appears the swamp has begun draining itself after Trump offered a buyout that some of them seemingly couldn't refuse.

According to a scoop from Axios, as of Tuesday, some 20,000 federal workers have already accepted the buyout, which was officially pitched a week ago. Those 20,000 employees represent approximately 1% of the federal workforce, a significant number, to be sure, but a far cry from the 5% to 10% of the workforce the Trump administration had originally projected.

'Whichever path you choose, we thank you for your service to the United States of America.'

The deadline to accept the buyout is still two days away, so officials are still expecting the number of resignations to increase, especially in light of the major shakeup at the U.S. Agency for International Development.

"We expect more to come," one official told Axios. "If you see what's happening at USAID, it's just one piece of the puzzle."

The terms of the buyout are indeed enticing. Those who accept it retain all existing benefits until the end of September without having to return to the office, so long as they complete "reasonable and customary tasks and processes to facilitate" their exit.

The process of accepting the offer is also remarkably easy. All that the people who wish to resign need to do is reply to the offer on their official government email account, type "resign" in the subject line, and hit "send."

By contrast, those who choose to stay must commit to working at the office five days a week and to upholding a culture based on merit rather than, say, seniority or identity. Those who remain also still run the risk of losing their positions to "restructurings, realignments, and reductions in force," though the Trump administration has pledged to honor all "relevant collective-bargaining agreements" during the restructuring process.

"Whichever path you choose, we thank you for your service to the United States of America," the buyout offer stated.

Axios further noted that on average, the annual attrition rate of the federal workforce is about 6%. So some of those who accepted the buyout may have left anyway.

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