Federal employees have through Thursday to decide whether to take what the Trump administration calls its "buyout" or “deferred resignation” offer.

The Trump administration gave most of the country’s federal employees nine days to decide if they want to resign with pay through the end of September.

The letters are the first examples of the national security and intelligence workforce being included in broader efforts to downsize the federal government by the Trump administration.

Hundreds of thousands of federal employees must decide by February 6, 2025, whether to accept the " Fork in the Road" deferred resignation offer.

Staff within the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency are now permitted to take the Trump administration’s deferred resignation offer, reversing an exemption notice provided late last week saying CISA and other Department of Homeland Security bureaus would not qualify because of national security reasons.

The Trump administration issued an email blast on Jan. 28 giving most of the country’s 2.3 million eligible employees federal workers the option to resign with pay through Sept. 30. The deadline to decide on whether to accept the offer is Thursday.

Federal workers across the nation face a life-altering decision this week — tender their resignations and be paid through Sept. 30. Or hold firm and face future rounds of belt-tightening and strict return to the office requirements.