A former candidate for vice pesident has warned federal employees not to take up Donald Trump’s offer of eight months salary if they quit their jobs by next week.
Senator Tim Kaine, who was the Democratic nominee for VP in 2016, summed up his opinion of the buyout in three words.
“He’ll stiff you,” Kaine declared, speaking on the Senate floor Tuesday.
The Trump administration offered the buyout to around 2 million federal employees this week, claiming they can stop working and still receive pay through the end of September.
It claims resignations could cut up to 10 percent of the federal workforce and save $100 billion a year. But continued provision of public services and crackdowns on lawbreakers like tax cheats could be at serious risk with the cut.
“Don’t be fooled,” Kaine said. “He’s tricked hundreds of people with that offer,” he noted of Trump. “If you accept that offer and resign he’ll stiff you just like he stiffed the contractors.”
The Virginia senator added that it’s not clear the Trump administration has the legal authority or funds to ensure its promises. “The president has no authority to make that offer,” Kaine warned.
“There’s no budget line item to pay people who are not showing up for work,” he added.
He underscored Trump’s long history of allegedly withholding payment from contractors. Trump businesses have also declared bankruptcy six times between 1991 and 2001, leaving creditors holding the bag.
Elsewhere on Wednesday, federal workers encourages each other on Reddit to resist the offer, arguing their presence is “the last line of defense against fascism.”
“We watched this goon try to overthrow the government on live tv four years ago,” one user wrote. “Now, we are witnessing him try to overthrow it from within.”
Another popular post about the buyouts is an image of the Statue of Liberty with the slogan: “Hold the Line! Don’t resign!”