


The CIA has become the first U.S. intelligence agency to offer buyouts to all of its workers, according to multiple news reports published Tuesday, as President Donald Trump’s plans to overhaul the federal government take shape.
While CIA staffers were originally excluded from the buyout offer Trump made to over 2 million civil servants last week, its director, John Ratcliffe, who was confirmed in the role last month, pushed for the agency’s workers to also be eligible for the program in an effort to reshape it.
The Wall Street Journal was the first to report the news.
“Director Ratcliffe is moving swiftly to ensure the CIA workforce is responsive to the Administration’s national security priorities,” a spokesperson for the agency told Reuters. “These moves are part of a holistic strategy to infuse the Agency with renewed energy.”
CNN noted that while the offer was made to the CIA’s entire workforce, it’s unclear whether everyone at the agency would be eligible for “deferred resignation.” A source told the network that people with certain areas of expertise could be excluded from the program.
Meanwhile, an aide to Ratcliffe told the Journal that the agency may rescind conditional offers made to job applicants who appear not to have relevant experience to tackle the CIA’s new objectives, like weakening China.
Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) appeared to criticize the latest developments at the agency, which he suggested would benefit U.S. adversaries.
In late January, Trump announced he would be offering buyouts to all federal employees in an effort to downsize and overhaul the federal government.
The buyout offer would allow employees to stop working but still get paid and collect benefits until the end of September. The deadline to accept the proposal is Feb. 6.
As of Tuesday, over 20,000 federal workers have opted in, according to multiple reports. The figure represents about 1% of the federal workforce, far below the 10% target eyed by Trump and his billionaire ally Elon Musk.
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Meanwhile, labor unions sued the Trump administration, seeking an injunction to block the program, which they describe as “arbitrary and capricious and contrary to law.”