20,000 United States federal employees accepted the Trump administration's offer to leave their positions but be paid through September

At least 20,000 federal employees have accepted President Donald Trump’s buyout offer ahead of Thursday’s deadline, a White House official said Tuesday.

This figure accounts for about 1% of the more than 2 million federal employees, falling short of the administration’s target of 5% to 10%.

However, the official noted that the number of deferred resignations is "rapidly growing," and the White House anticipates a significant surge in buyout sign-ups within the final 24 to 48 hours before the deadline.

Axios was the first to report the number of accepted buyouts.

In an aggressive push to shrink the federal workforce, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management sent a mass email last Tuesday offering all federal employees an eight-month buyout package—pay and benefits through September—if they resign by February 6.

The buyout program is part of Elon Musk’s plan to overhaul the federal government through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which he oversees. Musk’s initiative aims to reduce the size of the bureaucracy and implement sweeping changes across federal agencies.

Employees who choose to stay were informed via email that they must return to in-person work, adopt new "performance standards," and demonstrate they are "reliable, loyal, and trustworthy." The message warned that many federal agencies will face "restructurings, realignments, and reductions in force" in the coming months.

Erv Koehler, assistant commissioner of general supplies and services at the General Services Administration (GSA), cautioned staff in an internal email that layoffs across the federal government are "likely" if an insufficient number of employees accept the buyout offer, according to reporting by The Washington Post.