White House Insults Federal Workers, Urging Them To Quit Their ‘Low Productivity’ Jobs

The taunt was part of another White House email urging federal employees to accept a "deferred resignation" offer.

If President Donald Trump’s disdain for the federal workforce wasn’t already clear enough before Inauguration Day, the White House is making sure it comes through in its official emails to employees.

Its Office of Personnel Management sent a mass email Thursday night to answer “a number of questions” about its controversial deferred resignation offer. The White House has urged workers to resign by next Thursday and suggested they would still collect pay through September while doing little or no work.

The plan is fuzzy and its legality dubious, hence the need for a follow-up FAQ from the White House. Perhaps in an effort to nudge more workers out the door, whoever drafted the email made sure to insult its recipients while explaining the offer:

Q: Am I allowed to get a second job during the deferred resignation period?A: Absolutely! We encourage you to find a job in the private sector as soon as you would like to do so. The way to greater American prosperity is encouraging people to move from their lower productivity jobs in the public sector to higher productivity jobs in the private sector. [emphasis added]

The email, from hr@opm.gov, also told workers they would not be expected to work during the deferral period but could still collect pay and accrue benefits.