If the Trump administration reaches its goal of cutting 5% to 10% of staff, more than 100,000 people will leave the federal workforce, making it by far the largest layoff in U.S. history. The current record-holder is IBM, which cut 60,000 jobs in 1993.

Plus: President Trump signs an executive order targeting 'anti-Christian bias.' | The U.S. Treasury temporarily agrees to limit DOGE access.

The buyouts were being pushed by both President Trump and Department of Government Efficiency head Elon Musk as a way to drastically reduce the number of employees on the federal payroll.

The Trump administration warned federal employees that they could be furloughed if they don't accept a buyout offer.

Wes Battle has been glued to the phone at his financial-planning office in Maryland for days, endlessly fielding calls from clients, most of whom work for the federal government. They all want to know the same thing in a hurry: Is the U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s “fork in the road” offer a good deal financially?

A judge temporarily halted the Trump administration's federal buyout program. MSNBC legal correspondent Lisa Rubin breaks it down. Author of "Why Presidents Fail and How They Can Succeed Again" Elaine Kamarck and the Atlantic staff writer Tom Nichols join Katy Tur to weigh in.

The CIA confirmed Wednesday that it offered buyouts to employees who volunteer to resign, the latest group of federal workers to receive such a proposal as President Trump pushes to transform the federal government. A CIA spokesperson declined to say how many people received the offers or whether they face any deadline to decide.

President Donald Trump’s administration is offering buyouts to federal employees to quickly reduce the government workforce. They don’t have a long time to decide.