Musk’s Deferred Resignation: How DOGE Takes Back Control of U.S. Government Employees and Access to Government Computer Systems
Several of Musk’s lieutenants had been granted access to key computer systems controlled by the GSA, which is an independent agency that is tasked by Congress with overseeing federal buildings and providing equipment, supplies, and IT support.
Federal workers were confused after OPM sent a email with a “deferred resignation offer” on January 28. (DOGE’s own new HR chief was unable to answer basic questions about the offer in a contentious staff meeting last week, WIRED reported.) In an email to staff Sunday evening, OPM clarified whether the deferred resignation program complied with existing privacy laws. “Yes,” read the answer. The deferred resignation program doesn’t use much else besides basic contact information about federal employees. The information is stored on government systems. All information relevant to the program can be found in the OPM System Records Notices.
The US government’s human resources department was effectively taken over by Musk’s outfit, WIRED reported last week. Many of the young engineers who were employed are former interns or have been associated with Musk-aligned companies.
The Trump administration started a campaign to force federal workers to leave their jobs ahead of any budget cuts. The effort is spearheaded by Elon Musk, leader of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a task force that has effectively seized control of several federal agencies and sensitive government systems with apparent clearance from the White House.
In a striking example of the policy in action, an image surfaced last week of a wall being painted over at the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Quantico, Virginia, academy due to it listing “diversity” among the bureau’s core values. (According to an email from the FBI’s Office of Integrity and Compliance obtained by Mother Jones, the bureau no longer counts “diversity” among its core values.)
Following a White House edict effectively banning federal employees from disclosing their personal pronouns in email signatures, sources within multiple federal agencies say pronouns are now being systemically blocked across multiple email clients and other software.
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The OPM communications director pointed to a January 29 Memorandum ordering agencies to disabling certain features that prompt users for their pronouns.
WIRED confirmed various automated efforts with employees at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the General Services Administration (GSA), and the US Department of Agriculture.
Federal Employees Aren’t Listening to OPM: An OPM Injunction Would Not Cause a Deadline for the Deferred Resignation Program
OPM would have to immediately shut the server down until the assessment is done if the motion is granted. The Trump administration plans to drastically reduce the size of the federal workforce and are likely to face delays. An email account linked to the server is being used to gather information about federal workers who are interested in taking part in the deferred resignation program.
National Security Counselors’ executive director, Kel McCanahan, said that a temporary restraining order is an extraordinary remedy. “But this is an extraordinary situation.”
Before issuing a restraining order, courts apply what’s known as the “balance of equities” doctrine, weighing the burdens and costs on both parties. In this case, he argues, the injunction would not cause any hardship to the government. February 6 is an “arbitrary deadline,” he says, and the administration could simply continue to implement the resignation program “through preexisting channels.”
The motion claims that OPM was allowed to allow unknown individuals to simply ignore its systems and security protocols in order to communicate directly with them. In short, the sole purpose of these new systems was expediency.”
The initial lawsuit, filed on January 27, cites reports that Musk’s associates illegally connected a server to a government network for the purposes of harvesting information, including the names and email accounts of federal employees. The server was installed on the agency’s premises, the complaint alleges, without OPM—the government’s human resources department—conducting a mandatory privacy impact assessment required under federal law.
An attorney representing two federal workers—Jane Does 1 and 2—filed a motion this morning arguing that the server’s continued operation not only violates federal law but is potentially exposing vast quantities of government staffers’ personal information to hostile foreign adversaries through unencrypted email.
The federal employees want a restraining order to stop the illegal operation of a server on the fifth floor of the OPM headquarters in Washington, DC.