Energy Department staffers have until midnight Tuesday to take the Trump administration’s second offer for an early resignation amid the threat of steeper cuts.
It’s a decision that staffers say is fueling widespread anxiety across the sprawling agency and questions about how — and whether — critical offices will continue to operate, from conducting research on everything from hydrogen fuel cells to geothermal and administering efficiency regulations.
“The department’s ability to execute on any number of programs and projects is going to be really at risk,” said one DOE career staffer who was granted anonymity to speak freely. The staffer said they planned to take the offer and already had a new job lined up.
“There are a number of offices that are going to be especially decimated, but everyone is going to feel it,” they said. “Even people who I thought were committed to sticking it out are seriously considering the [Deferred Resignation Program] now.”
