Newest Round of Trump Moves Targets Federal Employees, Care for Transgender Kids

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s latest actions included an offer to buy out a large swath of the federal workforce, and an order narrowing medical options for transgender children, and some transgender adults.

Millions of government employees received an email Tuesday evening instructing them to reply with the word “resign” by Feb. 6 for a “dignified, fair departure” that promises full pay and benefits through September 2025, with the option of continuing to work from home.

The offer was not extended to military personnel, U.S. Postal Service workers, or “those in positions related to immigration enforcement and national security,” and other “specifically excluded” jobs.

According to a copy of the email reviewed by States Newsroom, those who choose to remain as part of the “reformed federal workforce” will be expected to return to the office in person five days a week and be “reliable, loyal, trustworthy” employees.

Workers who break the law or engage in “other misconduct will be prioritized for appropriate investigation and discipline, including termination,” according to the email.

The unsigned memo also warns that while some federal agencies and military branches may grow, the administration expects others to shrink.

“At this time we cannot give you full assurance regarding the certainty of your position or agency but should your position be eliminated you will be treated with dignity and will be afforded the protections in place for such positions,” according to the email, which was sent from hr@opm.gov.

Union warns against ‘hasty decision’

The offer drew criticism, including from Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, who said on the Senate floor Wednesday that Trump “has no authority to make that offer.”

The American Federation of Government Employees, a union that represents 800,000 federal and D.C. employees, advised its members in a social media post to “NOT to make a hasty decision to resign until you have further details.”

A statement from the union’s national president, Everett Kelley, said the “purging” of government workers will have “vast, unintended consequences that will cause chaos for the Americans who depend on a functioning federal government.”

“This offer should not be viewed as voluntary. Between the flurry of anti-worker executive orders and policies, it is clear that the Trump administration’s goal is to turn the federal government into a toxic environment where workers cannot stay even if they want to,” Kelley said.

The federal government employs around 3 million people, making it the 15th-largest employer in the country, according to USAFacts.org.

Blocking funds for trans care for kids

Adding to a cascade of executive orders signed during his first nine days in office, Trump issued a directive late Tuesday that aims to limit treatment options for transgender children and adults under the age of 19.

The dictate is the latest in a string of orders by Trump to govern gender from the Oval Office.

On Monday, Trump banned openly transgender people from serving in the armed forces. On the night of his inauguration, the president declared the federal government will only recognize two sexes, male and female, ending “gender ideology extremism.”

According to Trump’s latest gender-related order, the government will “not fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support the so-called ‘transition’ of a child from one sex to another, and it will rigorously enforce all laws that prohibit or limit these destructive and life-altering procedures.”

The order defines a “child” as being under age 19, although most states recognize 18 as the legal age of adulthood.

Under the directive, heads of federal health agencies must pull research and educational grants from any medical schools or hospitals that continue to offer hormone treatments, often called puberty blockers, or gender transition surgery to patients under 19 years old.

Additionally, the order directs the U.S. attorney general — who will likely be former Florida AG Pam Bondi — to work with Congress on legislation that would “enact a private right of action for children and the parents of children whose healthy body parts have been damaged by medical professionals” who prescribed hormone treatments or transition surgery. The legislation should “include a lengthy statute of limitations,” the order states.

DOJ instructions

The decree also instructs the Department of Justice to “prioritize” investigating cases of female genital mutilation, prosecutable under a federal law meant to protect girls in the United States from the religious or cultural custom of removing portions or all of the genitalia.

Trump’s order ensures that neither Medicare nor Medicaid can cover hormone therapy and certain surgical procedures for recipients under 19, and that insurance benefits offered to federal employees also do not offer coverage for those under 19 receiving the specified treatments.

The directive also mentions a ban on such health coverage for the trans children of U.S. service members, but that prohibition was already made explicit in Congress’ most recent annual defense authorization package.

The executive order titled “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation” gives the next secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services three months to publish a review of “best practices for promoting the health of children who assert gender dysphoria, rapid-onset gender dysphoria, or other identity-based confusion” — but specifically labels any guidance from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health as “junk science.”

Trump has nominated Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. as the nation’s next health secretary.

Last updated 4:15 p.m., Jan. 29, 2025

by Ashley Murray, Virginia Mercury

Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Samantha Willis for questions: info@virginiamercury.com.