Over 20,000 U.S. federal employees, roughly 1% of the government workforce, have signed up for an offer to quit their jobs, a source said on Tuesday, in return for continuing to receive their salaries through the end of September.

The White House told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that it anticipates a "spike" in federal government resignations as a buyout offer deadline looms.

Donald Trump’s return to the office order has prompted 20,000 workers to quit in favour of buyout offers. The president’s administration is offering buyouts to federal employees in an unprecedented move to shrink the US government at breakneck speed.

About 20,000 federal workers have accepted the "buyout" offer put forward by the Trump administration last week, a senior administration official tells Axios. Why it matters: It's a significant number of people — about 1% of the federal workforce — but still substantially less than the White House's target of 5% to 10%.

The Trump administration on Monday pushed back on what it's calling "misinformation" about its "fork in the road" offer to federal workers, who were given the option to resign and get paid for eight months.