The Deferred Resignation Program of Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency: A Case Study in Public Sector Cybersecurity, and an Example of Trump’s Action on White House Clearing

Multiple agency sources told WIRED last week that several of Musk’s lieutenants had been granted access to key computer systems controlled by the GSA, an independent agency tasked by Congress with overseeing federal buildings and providing equipment, supplies, and IT support across the government.

The OPM sent out a “deferred resignation offer” to federal workers on January 28. (DOGE’s own new HR chief was unable to answer basic questions about the offer in a contentious staff meeting last week, WIRED reported.) In an email to staff Sunday evening, OPM clarified whether the deferred resignation program complied with existing privacy laws. “Yes,” read the answer. “The deferred resignation program uses only basic contact information about federal employees, like name and government address, along with short, voluntary email responses. The information is stored on government systems. To the extent that the Privacy Act applies, all information relevant to the program is covered by existing OPM System Records Notices.”

WIRED reported last week that Musk and his group took over the US government’s human resources department. Many of the young engineers employed are former interns or have been associated with Musk-aligned companies, according to public records.

The Trump administration began a campaign last week which is aimed at persuading members of the federal workforce to leave their jobs. The leader of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a task force chaired by Musk, has effectively taken control of several federal agencies and sensitive government systems in large part due to White House clearance.

In a striking example of the policy in action, an image surfaced last week of a wall being painted over at the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Quantico, Virginia, academy due to it listing “diversity” among the bureau’s core values. (According to an email from the FBI’s Office of Integrity and Compliance obtained by Mother Jones, the bureau no longer counts “diversity” among its core values.)

The ban on personal pronouns follows sweeping efforts by the White House to eliminate programs that encourage diversity and social justice within the federal government, as well as other references to “diversity, equity, and inclusion” in federal employees’ discourse.

Are you a current or former employee with a government agency impacted by this? We’d like to hear from you. Using a nonwork phone or computer, contact Dell Cameron securely at dell.3030 on Signal.

Why the democrats aren’t doing enough to make the demolishing of USAID illegal: A press conference with Raskin and Raskin

Multiple agency directors sent emails over the weekend telling staff that, due to President Donald Trump’s executive order, their offices would be removing the pronoun capability from Office 365. The employees were told that they would need to remove pronouns from their email signatures as well.

WIRED confirmed that there are several automated efforts with employees at the USAID, the EPA, and the GSA.

A lack of clarity internally has prompted alternative channels for federal workers to share information with one another. The subreddit r/fednews is a central place for federal workers to share information, compare notes, and boost their happiness in their jobs. The Alt National Parks Service account serves as an update feed for federal employees and members of the public.

A person who works for the Coast Guard said he was disgusted at the lack of fire in their bellies. Another federal worker says that many lawmakers are “absolutely failing to meet the moment,” and questions why Democrats aren’t doing more to throw sand in the gears, like refusing to confirm Trump’s nominees or speaking in stronger terms against the demolition of government agencies and norms. “If not now, when?”

The pressure from elected officials ramped up on Monday, when a group of Democratic lawmakers held a press conference outside the USAID headquarters, calling Trump and Musk’s attempts to shut down USAID illegal.

“We don’t have a fourth branch of government called Elon Musk,” Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), said. The group attempted to get into the building, but were stopped by law enforcement.

The Environmental Protection Agency is Targeted by its Employees. The Trump Administration is Hiring Human Resources to Maintain Public Safety, Public Works, and the Environment

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is reeling from a “notice” employees received by email last week telling them the agency “has the right to immediately terminate you.” The email, a copy of which was obtained by The Verge, was sent to employees on a probationary/trial period who were hired within the past year. The letter was sent to 1,100 people at the agency according to the legislative and political coordinator for Council 238 of the American Federation of Government Employees.

New hires that are still in a probationary period have fewer protections than other employees, says Cantello. It is easier to get rid of them and that is why the Trump administration is targeting them.

The email says that you will get a notice of dismissal and be terminated immediately, but it doesn’t say when that will happen.

According to Cantello, the agency is at risk of losing 10% of its workforce because of those who choose to take a deferred resignation.

Losing this amounts of staff would hurt EPA’s ability to protect human health and the environment, including recovering from the Los Angeles fires. The agency employs about 15,000 people and has spent the last four years trying to build back its ranks after an exodus of scientists from federal agencies during the first Trump administration.

The EPA’s intranet service was also down for most of the work day on Monday, keeping employees from accessing their personnel records. Those kinds of documents are important for workers to keep in case they choose to take legal action against the agency in the future if they believe they’ve been fired illegally. The intranet service is important for the agency to enforce environmental regulation. It’s where employees record complaints, for example. The EPA didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from The Verge.

Federal civil servants are usually not a part of activism as they used to be. But every morning this week at 7:30 AM, demonstrations of solidarity with federal workers are planned in front of the Office of Personnel Management in a show of peaceful protest. There are two more rallies planned in front of the Treasury Department on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Through conversations with half a dozen federal workers, all but one of whom were granted anonymity, it is clear that the hostile takeover of federal agencies is putting employees and contractors on edge, uncertain if they will have a job.

The crackdown on things like work from home or acknowledging gender has created an atmosphere of paranoia and hyper vigilance. Many federal employees have moved work-related conversations to encrypted messaging app Signal. And the tech industry’s embrace of right wing politics and politicians has created a sense of distrust, a federal contractor says, with people fearing that communication on other platforms could be leaked by pro-Trump companies.

Federal employees know if they don’t comply or leave their jobs someone else will, and things may get worse. Managers seem to be wondering if losing their job is worth putting their teams in danger, observes the federal worker. Should I accept this or tell my team to accept it, and fight another day, if this does not completely go against my principles?

The person who received the email said that people are angry at being accused of cheating the government by working from home. “We’re feeling not valued by the administration.”

If grantees supported DEI initiatives, grantees working on grants were told to email Department of Labor employees to get their funding cut off. One employee who works on grants said, “No one wanted to send it, but it felt more like my boss was going to send it if I didn’t.” Their grantees who received the message were “freaking out,” since many nonprofits that rely on such funds can’t afford to fight back in a protracted battle. “It made my heart hurt to send it,” the employee said.

The term gender was not included in official documents, which was mandated by the executive order on “defending women”. Even though there wasn’t enough time to change the wording of every reference, one chose to remove references to a lot of gender resources.

A person working for the US Agency for International Development is scared and feels betrayed. People who get hired take an oath to protect the constitution. And with Musk actively dismantling the humanitarian agency, which Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday he now runs, workers at other agencies are wondering if the same could happen to their workplaces. “I think everyone is really scared about what happened at USAID, because I don’t think anyone thought that was possible,” says one Department of Labor employee.