In my weeknotes post from January 20, 2025, hours before the inauguration ceremony of Donald Trump, I wrote about being uncertain about what a Trump presidency would hold for me as a federal employee.

While government efficiency sounds good (who wouldn’t want that?), it seems like part of the plan is to make things tougher for federal employees. Including return to office mandates, layoffs, worse retirement/insurance benefits, and more. As a federal employee, that does not sound appealing. I am curious to see how much of it is talk, or frivolous bills that go nowhere in congress, and how much of it ends up becoming real and impacting my life.

But the speed and scale of change that I’ve seen in the past month has far exceeded what I thought possible. That we have a president biased for action is indisputable. It’s a stark contrast from the previous presidency. What’s yet to be seen is the lasting effect this flurry of actions will have on our government, and therefore, our nation.

Disruptive Emails

Nine days after writing that post, two disruptive emails found their way into my inbox on the same day.

Return to In-Person Work

The less interesting of the two was an email from NASA HR with the subject “Instructions for returning to in-person work”. I knew this would come, but never expected it this quickly. All NASA employees, with few exceptions, will be back onsite full-time starting February 28. That includes me. In the past weeks I’ve been involved in more than a few discussions about how we are going to make it work to come back onsite.

My organization, the NASA Safety Center, went all-in on the shift to hybrid work post-Covid. We sold about half of our office space. Almost everybody gave up their seat assignments, and the floor plan was reconfigured to optimize for “hoteling”. This allowed people to reserve a cubicle or pick from unoccupied desks in an open seating area. It worked great when we only needed to come in once a week. But now we are scrambling to reverse course.

We have just enough space to accommodate our 30+ civil servants. The team is scrambling to figure out who gets which seats, and coordinating everyone bringing in our NASA-provided IT equipment that we have been using at home for the past few years. On top of that, we don’t have space for the contractor staff we work with closely on a day-to-day basis. We sold that space years ago and the team has grown since then. Contractors are not mandated to return to office under the executive order, so for now we are figuring out how to get all the civil servants back, and then we will figure out what to do with our contractors. We all have worked very effectively from home the past few years, so I believe (and hope) we will offer the contractors more leniency than we have received.

The intent behind the return to office is to get federal workers to quit (Elon and Vivek said this publicly in an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal last year), so I don’t think that is the correct approach to take with our contractors unless we also want to them to quit. And we do not want that.

Beyond the professional complexities of bringing everyone back to the office, I am saddened about needing to make this change for my family. I will miss the ten hours a week I will lose with my family due to my commute. I’ll certainly miss eating lunch with my wife and daughter, going on post-lunch walks, and being able to put my daughter down for her naps. I still feel incredibly fortunate for the job I have and a commute to the office doesn’t change that, but this marks a stark change in routine and lifestyle, for myself and my family.

Not being one to wallow, I have been trying to focus on the silver linings. I’ll get to connect with my coworkers more. I can become a voracious audiobook listener on my drives. My desk can be the home of a “joke of the week” board that becomes a small part of rebuilding office morale. Focusing on these potential positives has made it a little easier to accept that I’ll be back in the office full-time soon.

This change came fast and heavy. While I’m going to make the best of it, this is going to be a tough transition for my team and me. Yet despite the turmoil this has caused, the return to office email has taken up far less space in my conscience than the other email that graced my inbox on January 29.

Fork in the Road (Deferred Resignation)

This other email came from a curious new sender that just said “HR” and had the subject “Fork in the Road”. It was marked as [EXTERNAL], which is an immediate red flag, and had no branding. If one was to craft the perfect spam email, this is the template they would follow.

But this was real.

This email came from hr@opm.gov. An email address that did not exist a week prior.

In the days leading up to this email, we had received two other emails from this address stating that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) was testing a new government-wide email system. These messages were sent to all 2+ million federal employees.

But on February 29, we all got to see why this new email system had been set up. The Fork in the Road email introduced a program called Deferred Resignation. If you opted in to the program, you would agree to resign effective September 30, 2025. In return, you could work from home until your resignation date, and your agency may put you on administrative leave, effectively allowing you to receive your paycheck without working.

How would one enroll in this program, you ask? Respond to the email with the word RESIGN. That’s it. Yes, seriously. No, I’m not kidding.

If you want to see for yourself, you can read the email here. I saved my own copy in case OPM ever takes it down from their website, which they’ve done with a couple of things over the past few weeks.

Now you might be wondering, “Jake, did you take this!? Eight months of pay!? You could take a long vacation and find a new job!”

No. I did not take this offer. I don’t trust it.

There are a few reasons why I don’t trust it. For starters, this email curiously has the same title as an email that Musk sent to Twitter employees when he took over there. What happened to Twitter employees who accepted the severance offer? They were not paid what they were promised. If that’s not enough, it’s also not clear that OPM/Trump/Musk have the authority to make this offer. The federal government is only funded through March 14. Congress needs to pass a new budget by then, and it’s possible that they will not include appropriations for the people who took deferred resignation. And in addition to the budget, current federal law limits agencies to giving no more than 10 days of admin leave.

All of these are, in my opinion, good reasons to be skeptical of the offer.

But there’s more.

A few days later, OPM sent a template Deferred Resignation agreement to agencies that had additional language about how the program would work. The language in the agreement is concerning. Here’s a copy of the template agreement.

I’ll point out a few of the most concerning clauses, emphasis mine.

Employee shall not be expected to work during the deferred resignation period except in rare circumstances as determined by [AGENCY].

I’m not sure what constitutes rare circumstances. We’ve already seen some cases of employees still being required to work, such as IRS employees through tax return season. Another section reads:

By signing this agreement, the parties acknowledge that they have entered the agreement knowingly, voluntarily, and free from improper influence, coercion, or duress. Employee understands that, except as provided in paragraph 14 applicable to Employees 40 years of age or older, this agreement cannot be rescinded, except in the sole discretion of the [AGENCY HEAD], which shall not be subject to review at the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) or any other forum, and waives all rights to challenge the resignation before the MSPB or any other forum.

First, I wouldn’t say this offer is “free from improper influence, coercion, or duress”. The original fork email states that they intend to eliminate positions, and they cannot promise anyone who does not take this offer that they will still have a job. Further, this template agreement came out two days before the deadline to resign. A 48 hour timeframe might cause some duress for a big life decision like this.

But the second part I emphasized is much more concerning. In plain English, the Agency Head can undo this agreement whenever they want, and the employee gives up their right to do anything about it. In summary, this agreement binds the employee to its terms, but it does not bind the agency to its terms.

But wait! There’s even more waiving of rights in here:

Employee forever waives, and will not pursue through any judicial, administrative, or other process, any action against [AGENCY] that is based on, arising from, or related to Employee’s employment at [AGENCY] or the deferred resignation offer, including any and all claims that were or could have been brought concerning said matters. This waiver includes all claims Employee may have under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. Employee unconditionally releases [AGENCY] and its present and former employees, officers, agents, representatives, and all persons acting by, through, or in concert with any of those individuals, either in their official or individual capacities, from any and all liability based on, arising from, or relating to the matters that Employee may have against them, including any and all claims that were or could have been brought. Consistent with applicable law, Employee similarly waives any claim that could be brought on Employee’s behalf by another entity, including Employee’s labor union.

Wow. That clause is not typical in the other forms related to separating from the government. I wonder why they wanted to add that in for the Deferred Resignation? Perhaps they anticipate a decent amount of people taking legal action related to this program?

Hopefully you can understand why I chose not to take the Deferred Resignation.

Another funny twist in this story is that the day of the deadline, February 6, I got an urgent email from leadership that the deadline was midnight and there would be NO EXTENSIONS. Then an hour and a half later, I got an email that the deadline had been extended, because a judge put a temporary restraining order on the program until they could have a full hearing on it.

Ultimately, the case was thrown out because it had been brought by the federal labor unions, and the judge ruled that the unions did not have standing since they are not harmed by the offer.

Despite all the concerning points I highlighted above, NASA had about 800+ people on the list for deferred resignation. But here’s the thing: when OPM compiled and sent the list to NASA, they accidentally included more than just the actual respondents. The count got inflated by supervisors who were cc’d on emails, out-of-office replies to the “Fork in the Road” message, and others who had no plans to resign.

It’s worth noting that many who have taken the offer were already planning to retire or very near retirement. From what I’m hearing, that seems to be the vast majority.

Further Shrinking the Workforce

Beyond the Return to Office and the Deferred Resignation Program, there have been a few other attempts to downsize the federal workforce including eliminating DEI positions, firing probationary employees, and beginning preparations for a reduction in force (RIF).

Eliminating DEI

In compliance with the executive order “Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing”, NASA eliminated all functions and people whose primary focus was DEI. I think only a couple of people fit this description at NASA, but there’s been a further effort to remove all language related to DEI from all employee performance plans.

Eliminating Gender

In addition to eliminating those positions and modifying performance plans, there were other changes mandated in a separate but related order titled “DEFENDING WOMEN FROM GENDER IDEOLOGY EXTREMISM AND RESTORING BIOLOGICAL TRUTH TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT”, such as replacing the word “gender” with “sex” in government forms and communications. I was tasked with making sure this change was made in one of our software applications that tracks mishaps. When someone is injured, we would collect their “gender” in the application, but had to change the name of that question to “sex”.

It was a trivial change to make. But it was strange to see everybody so nervous about getting it done by the deadline, all the way up to my boss’s boss’s boss. Even seemingly minor orders create intense pressure, with tight deadlines, unclear consequences for noncompliance, and widespread fear of job loss.

Firing Probationary Employees

When someone gets hired into the federal workforce, they start in a “probationary” period for the first year or two, depending on the position and agency. This is intended as a trial period, where the agency has more freedom to separate the employee within the probationary period if their performance does not meet the requirements of their position.

What we’re seeing now is an unprecedented use of the probationary period. Probationary employees are being fired en masse at multiple federal agencies. This is almost certainly illegal, because the intent is that probationary employees can be separated without severance or appeal for performance reasons. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in court, because many of those fired were given a generic reasoning of their termination being “for performance reasons” despite having stellar performance reviews and/or awards.

Luckily, NASA has been spared from these probationary firings for now. It was a dramatic week though, with rumors that firings would happen Tuesday, then rumors that it was paused by the White House, then rumors that it would happen Friday, then nothing except a statement from NASA that any probationary firings would be for performance reasons.

Reduction in Force

One of the more recent executive orders is titled “Implementing The President’s “Department of Government Efficiency” Workforce Optimization”. This executive order calls for a reduction in force across the federal government. Some of the language in the order has caused a lot of concern, such as:

Agency Heads shall promptly undertake preparations to initiate large-scale reductions in force (RIFs), consistent with applicable law, and to separate from Federal service temporary employees and reemployed annuitants working in areas that will likely be subject to the RIFs.

I was hired in as a temporary employee, but luckily was converted to permanent last year. But I work with a few temporary employees who fear for their jobs based on the way this is worded. If this is carried out as-worded, it would impact a large chunk of NASA’s workforce. Here’s another concerning section:

All offices that perform functions not mandated by statute or other law shall be prioritized in the RIFs, including all agency diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives; all agency initiatives, components, or operations that my Administration suspends or closes; and all components and employees performing functions not mandated by statute or other law who are not typically designated as essential during a lapse in appropriations as provided in the Agency Contingency Plans on the Office of Management and Budget website.

I don’t understand how all employees not designated as essential during a lapse in appropriations should be prioritized in RIFs. At NASA, that’s more than 90% of the workforce. When the government shuts down, it’s pretty much just security and facility/IT maintenance who still come in to make sure things don’t break or get stolen. I can’t imagine this actually being implemented as it is worded, but the wording is causing a lot of confusion and frustration at NASA.

So far, the reduction hasn’t actually begun, but agencies are planning for it. This will take time, but I have no idea what the breadth or scope of the reductions in force will be. I could lose my job from this, but there is no way to tell for sure right now. It helps that I was converted to a permanent position last year, but it doesn’t help that I only have 3 years of federal service and do not have a veteran status.

The Latest Elon Email

Yesterday, Saturday, February 22, all federal employees received an email titled “What did you do last week?”.

The email reads:

Please reply to this email with approx. 5 bullets of what you accomplished last week and cc your manager.

Please do not send any classified information, links, or attachments.

Deadline is this Monday at 11:59pmEST.

Viewed in isolation, that’s weird, but not terrible. What makes it much more malicious is this tweet from Elon before this email was sent:*

I don’t see any way it would be legal for a non-response to be equivalent to an employee submitting their resignation. It’s hard to believe these are official government communications being sent to 2+ million federal workers.

What’s further frustrating is that OPM doesn’t have the authority to ask for something like this.

I plan not to respond unless I receive a direct order from NASA to respond.

The invisible subtext behind this email is offensive. It seems to say “We don’t believe you accomplished much of anything last week. Justify yourself to us, or resign.” At the very least, this administration is clearly flexing its muscles and attempting to force federal workers to comply with its untraditional demands.

While I hesitate to make such a strong analogy, I can’t help but be reminded of the stories of German policemen in “Ordinary Men”. They ended up committing atrocities they could never imagine, but were led to that place slowly by continually complying to small, seemingly innocuous orders. I can’t help but wonder if these little orders are meant to condition me into a similar place of compliance and submission. The thought of that repulses me, but it is in the back of my mind with each new directive that comes out.

What’s Next?

Nobody knows for certain what comes next, but it seems pretty clear that it won’t be anything good, at least from the perspective of a federal employee. We know we have the reduction in force to look forward to. I’m certain we’ll get some more Elon-inspired emails sent to the whole government. NASA has a DOGE rep installed at headquarters now, but I’m not sure exactly what they’ll be doing. The word is that they’re looking for contracts to cut. And the “Fork in the Road” email hinted that the performance ratings process will become more rigorous.

On March 14 government funding expires. I am not sure whether to expect a government shutdown or congress to pass a budget. If they do pass a budget, I suspect there will be new legislation included that will adversely affect federal employees. Recent proposed legislation has suggested cuts to federal employee benefits.

Beyond that, who knows. In the meantime, I will be getting my work done and doing my best to ignore all the noise this is causing. I hope to be a calming presence for my coworkers in the midst of all the chaos and fear. As a Christian, this is a good opportunity for me to “love my neighbors”, especially as so much animosity is being directed at them.

I also plan to keep this post updated at the bottom with any new things that happen, mostly as a reference for myself so I can look back someday and remember how wild things were as a fed back in 2025.