White House expecting 'spike' in federal resignations as at least 20K take buyouts

"The number of deferred resignations is rapidly growing, and we're expecting the largest spike 24 to 48 hours before the deadline," a White House official told Fox News Digital on Tuesday morning. 

Axios reported earlier Tuesday that roughly 20,000 federal employees have taken the offer, accounting for about 1% of the federal government's workforce. The White House official told Fox News Digital following the report's publication that the 20,000 figure "isn't current." 

The Office of Personnel Management, which operates as the federal government's human resources department, notified roughly 2 million federal employees on Jan. 28 that they would be required to work out of their respective offices five days a week, or they could leave their roles through the equivalent of a buyout offer. 

Those who choose to take the offer will retain all pay and benefits and be exempt from in-person work until Sep. 30. 

The buyouts do not apply to positions such as military personnel, the U.S. Postal Services or positions related to immigration enforcement and national security. 

The White House has previously said it anticipated 5% to 10% of the federal workforce to resign. 

The United States Agency for International Development is the latest agency to land under DOGE's microscope. Hundreds of USAID employees reported they were locked out of the agency's computer system, while its headquarters in Washington, D.C., was closed on Monday. 

"USAID is a criminal organization," Musk posted to X on Sunday. "Time for it to die." 

"USAID was a viper's nest of radical-left marxists who hate America," he said in another message.