WASHINGTON — The Trump administration’s deferred resignation initiative, known as the “Fork in the Road” program, has sent shockwaves through the federal government, including agencies responsible for space programs, policy and intelligence.
While guidance from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) explicitly excludes military personnel, U.S. Postal Service employees, and positions related to national security and public safety, the buyout program was nonetheless extended to civilian employees in agencies with critical space-related missions.
The program, unveiled on Jan. 28 by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), offers federal employees the option to resign by Feb. 6 while retaining full pay and benefits through Sept. 30. The initiative mirrors a similar strategy Musk employed at Twitter in 2022, but its application to government agencies has raised legal and operational concerns.
Intelligence, defense, space agencies complying with OPM guidance
Spokespersons for space, defense and intelligence agencies, including NASA, the Department of the Air Force, the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), and the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA), confirmed their civilian employees received the buyout offer and are complying with OPM guidance.
The NGA, a hybrid defense-intelligence agency with approximately 14,500 employees, provides geospatial intelligence to the U.S. military and allied nations. The NRO, which has a workforce of roughly 3,000 personnel, builds and operates the nation’s spy satellites. The Department of the Air Force employs about 170,000 civilians, including approximately 4,600 supporting the U.S. Space Force. NASA, the premier civilian space agency, employs around 18,000 civil servants, while the FCC, which plays a key regulatory role in commercial space communications, has approximately 1,800 employees.
The rollout of the “Fork in the Road” program has been met with confusion and controversy as agencies scramble to interpret the guidance. OPM has said individual agencies have discretion to exclude specific positions from the buyout, but it remains unclear how many workers would fall in that category.
The situation remains fluid. A federal judge issued a temporary injunction delaying the Feb. 6 deferred resignation deadline until at least Feb. 10 following legal challenges from federal employee unions.
The deferred resignation initiative is expected to reduce the size of the federal workforce by roughly 10%. President Trump had long promised to shrink the government, and this program aims to further that goal.
The program also is intended to reshape the federal workforce and implement changes, such as requiring employees to physically return to work, updating performance standards, and reforming the federal hiring process.
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