White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt underscored the need for federal workers to return to work in person, claiming that taxpayers are paying for offices that are not even being used.
The Trump administration has offered deferred resignation to nearly all federal workers who do not wish to return to in-person work and is expecting 5% to 10% of the federal workforce to accept this offer. Leavitt stressed that it is not meant to be a purge but rather a “suggestion” for workers to return to the office or be “very generously” paid by the government if they decide by next week to resign effective Sept. 30.
KAROLINE LEAVITT SHAKES UP PRESS BRIEFING ROOM IN PODIUM DEBUT
“Six percent of the federal workforce in this city actually shows up for work,” Leavitt told reporters on Wednesday morning. “That’s unacceptable. We’re all here at work at the office, there are law enforcement officers and teachers and nurses across the country who showed up to the office today, people in this city need to do the same.”
.@PressSec Karoline Leavitt on buyouts: "This is a suggestion to federal workers that they have to return to work. If they don't then they have the option to resign and this administration is very generously offering to pay them for eight months." pic.twitter.com/B6AmEe79vB
— CSPAN (@cspan) January 29, 2025
Leavitt added that this policy is “overwhelmingly popular” with voters outside of Washington and that President Donald Trump is fulfilling a promise by giving federal workers this option.
The press secretary further explained that the incentives would save “tens of millions of dollars” as the government has wasted money on empty office spaces because workers are not working in person. She added that this policy only applies “within the law” and to those who are able to return to work.
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Federal employees who choose to accept this offer must announce their intention to resign by Feb. 6. Military personnel, the U.S. Postal Service, and anyone working in immigration enforcement or national security are excluded from the offer.
Leavitt, the youngest White House press secretary in U.S. history, finished her first press briefing on Tuesday, in which her performance was widely praised. The Washington Examiner’s Byron York described the atmosphere in the White House press room as a “breath of fresh air” with Leavitt at the podium and praised her performance compared to former press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.