It's the Brian Laira show on WNYC. Good morning, everyone. We'll begin this week with USA Today,

White House correspondent Francesca Chambers and your calls on two of the Trump administration's opening

actions, the tariffs that he announced over the weekend on Canada, Mexico, and China, and the offer to

most of the 2.3 million federal workers to resign and get eight months of salary buyout as they try to

shrink the size of the workforce

and also increase the percentage of those workers who are remaining, who are enthusiastically

in line with the new administration's policies. On the buyout first, if you're a federal

worker listening right now, are you going to take the buyout or wait to see if the new government retains you or lays you off?

And the deadline is Thursday.

So if you're undecided, what do you see as the pros and cons for you and what might make up your mind?

212-433, WNYC, 212-433-9-6-9-2. Federal workers, if you're listening right now,

any of you, are you going to take the buyout or wait to see what happens? And with the

deadline Thursday, if you're undecided, what do you see is the pros and cons for you at this

moment?

212-433, WNYC, call or text. 212, 433-9692. You know, there's an article on the bulwark,

the new site founded by anti-Trump conservatives, an article called layer cake that urges federal workers not to resign.

The layer cake concept is that it's in the national interest to keep layers of the federal

workforce there with professionals who are committed to the law and the Constitution

rather than simply walk away, even if you're disgusted with the new

administration and let the whole government become politicized in the interest of whatever the

president dictates. The argument on the other side, of course, is that the new government was

elected and campaigned on overhauling how the bureaucracy works. So the government rank and file should mostly help enact their policies.

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