The largest group of federal employees is nurses who work with military veterans in the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Trump administration has offered these nurses a chance to resign later, with a deadline coming up this Thursday. This offer comes during a time when there are serious staffing shortages at more than half of the facilities.
Unions are telling nurses not to accept the deal, and leaders warn that if many leave, it will hurt the care provided to 9.1 million veterans.
“We’re already dealing with a staffing crisis in our hospitals,” said Irma Westmoreland, a registered nurse who leads the Veterans Affairs team for National Nurses United. “We cannot afford to lose any more staff.”
Nurses working for the VA, which is the largest employer in the federal government, are the largest group of federal workers. There are over 100,000 of them, making up 5% of all full-time permanent employees, based on a study by the Associated Press.
Union spokeswoman Mary-Jean Burke said she has received calls from nurses and other VA workers nationwide. At first, she said that some people found the buyout plan appealing, but now they are having doubts.
Burke, a physical therapist and leader in the American Federation of Government Employees, said that at first, people were saying, “I’m leaving.” As the U.S. Office of Personnel Management shared more information, it began to seem “a bit too good to be true,” making people cautious.
VA nurses are generally older than other workers, with 16.2% being 55 or older, compared to 14.6% of the rest of the government workforce, according to AP’s analysis.
Burke said some workers who can leave are unsure about the offer, which includes pay until September 30. However, many are worried about whether the program is legal.
Nurses were confused at first, but now they are angry, Westmoreland said.
The official message about the offer suggested that the nurses are not working well, which has upset the nurses she spoke with. The Office of Personnel Management sent a follow-up email suggesting that government employees look for jobs in the private sector.
“The path to increased prosperity in America is to help people shift from lower-paying public sector jobs to better-paying private sector jobs,” the email stated.
Burke mentioned that workers have asked her about the many other presidential orders.
“People in Indiana and other areas are very scared about the chaos they see around them,” Burke said.
The department’s chiefs have also worried about how this might affect nursing in the VA, she said. A 2024 study from the VA Office of Inspector General shows that over 80% of facilities are facing a serious shortage of nurses.
“They’re also afraid,” she said. “They understand that they need to follow the president’s orders, but there’s a warning: ‘If five nurses accept the buyout, we won’t have an operating room anymore.’” That’s part of the conversation.
The VA did not reply to an email asking for their comments.
On Wednesday, the Office of Personnel Management sent an email urging government workers to take the financial offers to leave their jobs.
“Employees will need to meet higher standards of behavior and qualifications as we move ahead,” the email stated.
Burke expressed concerns about the federal workers in general.
“I understand it will look different,” she said. Many people are feeling stressed because they think their goals are less predictable now.
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