White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt pushed back on the suggestion that the Trump administration's buyout offers to all federal employees are a purge of employees not considered loyal. "That's absolutely false. This is a suggestion to federal workers that they have to return to work. And if they don't, then they have the option to resign," Leavitt told reporters Wednesday. "We're all here at work, at the office. There are law enforcement officers and teachers and nurses across the country who showed up to the office today. People in this city need to do the same," she added. The Trump administration announced Tuesday that it is offering buyouts to all federal employees who opt to leave their jobs by next week — an unprecedented move to shrink the U.S. government at breakneck speed. A memo from the Office of Personnel Management, the government’s human resources agency, also said it would begin subjecting all federal employees to “enhanced standards of suitability and conduct” and ominously warned of future downsizing. The email sent to millions of employees said those who leave their posts voluntarily will receive about eight months of salary, but they have to choose to do so by Feb. 6. In response, American Federation of Government Employees union President Everett Kelley said it should not be viewed as voluntary buyouts, but pressuring workers not considered loyal to the new administration to vacate their jobs. “Purging the federal government of dedicated career federal employees will have vast, unintended consequences that will cause chaos for the Americans who depend on a functioning federal government,” Kelley said in a statement. The federal government employed more than 3 million people as of November last year, which accounted for nearly 1.9% of the nation’s entire civilian workforce, according to the Pew Research Center. The average tenure for a federal employee is nearly 12 years, according to a Pew analysis of data from OPM. Speaking to reporters Wednesday morning before the White House Office of Management and Budget rescinded an order freezing spending on federal grants, Leavitt reiterated that it wouldn't impact social programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. And that it was intended to ensure "that tax dollars are not funding things that this president has signed out of law." "So the American people should not be confused about this. And in fact, they should be grateful that this administration is actually valuing their hard earned tax dollars," said Leavitt. Trump's budget office rescinded the order on Wednesday, according to two people familiar with the matter. The Monday evening order from the White House Office of Management and Budget sparked uncertainty over a crucial financial lifeline for states, schools and organizations that rely on trillions of dollars from Washington and left the White House scrambling to explain what would and wouldn't be subject to a pause in funding. Asked about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's decision to pull security protections and clearance for retired Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen. Mark Milley, Leavitt said that “as for Gen. Milley, the president’s position remains the same on this as it does for John Bolton and the other individuals." "He doesn’t believe these people should have the right to have security clearances and private details for the rest of their lives. Again, taxpayers are funding it. And the individuals you are mentioning are quite wealthy I understand, so they can get their own private security if they wish.”