CIA Staffers Offered Early Retirement To Leave Their Jobs

The CIA has become the first U.S. intelligence agency to offer buyouts to all of its workers who agree to leave voluntarily, according to multiplenews reports published Tuesday, as President Donald Trump’s plans to overhaul the federal government take shape.

However, the offer made to the CIA’s workforce reportedly differs from the “deferred resignation” program made available to over 2 million federal workers last month.

CBS News explained that the agency’s staffers have been offered early retirement through the Voluntary Early Retirement Authority, as well as other resignation options.

Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), a former CIA analyst, named a potential reason behind this purported difference.

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The Trump administration “figured out that what they’ve been offering other civil servants doesn’t seem to be legal, and so they’re changing up their package,” Slotkin told HuffPost’s Igor Bobic.

While CIA staffers were originally not offered the option to leave their positions, Director John Ratcliffe, who was confirmed in the role last month, pushed for the workers to be given the deal in an effort to reshape the agency.

The Wall Street Journal was the first to report the offer.

“Director Ratcliffe is moving swiftly to ensure the CIA workforce is responsive to the Administration’s national security priorities,” a spokesperson for the agency told Reuters. “These moves are part of a holistic strategy to infuse the Agency with renewed energy.”

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CNN noted that while the offer was made to the CIA’s entire workforce, it’s unclear whether everyone at the agency would be eligible for “deferred resignation.” A source told the network that people with certain areas of expertise could be excluded from the program.

Meanwhile, an aide to Ratcliffe told the Journal that the agency may rescind conditional offers made to job applicants who appear not to have relevant experience to tackle the CIA’s new objectives, like weakening China.

Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) appeared to criticize the latest developments at the agency, which he suggested would benefit U.S. adversaries.

In late January, Trump announced he would be offering buyouts to over 2 million federal employees in an effort to downsize and overhaul the federal government.

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The buyout offer would allow employees to stop working but still get paid and collect benefits until the end of September, an email sent by the Office of Personnel Management with the subject line “Fork in the Road” explained. The deadline to accept the proposal is Feb. 6.

As of Tuesday, over 20,000 federal workers have opted in, according to multiple reports. The figure represents about 1% of the federal workforce, far below the 10% target eyed by Trump and his billionaire ally Elon Musk.

Meanwhile, labor unions sued the Trump administration, seeking an injunction to block the program, which they describe as “arbitrary and capricious and contrary to law.”

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