The number of federal workers who have accepted the Trump administration’s buyout offer has exceeded 20,000, with a large increase in resignations expected ahead of Thursday’s deadline, the Washington Times has learned.

A White House official said the number of employees who’ve accepted the deal is skyrocketing. The administration expects the “largest spike” of resignations to come between 24 and 48 hours before the deadline. 

The official cautioned that the number of employees agreeing to the offer is increasing at such a rapid rate that their own numbers are quickly becoming outdated. 

More than 20,000 workers would amount to roughly 1% of the two million federal workers. That remains below the 5% to 10% of federal workers the White House initially estimated would resign. 

The White House says the buyout offer would save the government $100 billion.

The Trump administration announced last week that it is offering buyouts to all federal employees who leave their jobs by Thursday. All workers who opt to take the buyout will receive roughly eight months’ salary if they resign by the deadline, meaning that the workers will be paid through Sept. 30. 

Workers who did not accept the buyout were told that there would be no guarantee their jobs would be safe if they decided to stay. 

An email from the Office of Personnel Management, the government’s resources department said it could not give workers “full assurance regarding the certainty of your position or agency.” 

“Should your position be eliminated you will be treated with dignity and will be afforded protections in place for such positions,” the email said. 

The buyouts are an unprecedented move implemented by President Trump to shrink the U.S. government at a record speed by removing tens of thousands of workers at once. It is also part of Mr. Trump’s plan to eliminate any employees who do not wish to return to the office full-time after years of working remotely from home following the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Among  Mr. Trump’s first executive orders was a directive requiring federal workers to return to the office full-time. Unions representing federal employees have threatened legal action over the order, arguing that it violates collective bargaining agreements they won during contract negotiations.

• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.