Colorado has joined 21 states in challenging the Trump administration’s “buyout” plan for millions of federal workers.

About 40,000 federal employees live and work in Colorado, according to a 2024 Congressional Research Service report.

“A change in the federal workforce must be planned according to the law and with public input. By joining this court brief, we’re sending the message that we stand with federal workers who are committed to public service,” Attorney General Phil Weiser said in a statement, noting that The Federal Center in Lakewood has “the largest concentration of federal agencies outside of Washington, D.C.”

More than 65,000 federal employees and counting have taken the Trump administration’s “Fork in the Road” deferred resignation offer, and that number continues to grow.

The White House hopes to hit its target of between 5% and 10% of the federal workforce accepting the buyout, according to The Washington Examiner. With roughly 2 million federal employees, that means the White House is targeting up to 200,000 to accept the offer.

Last month, tens of thousands of employees in Colorado received an email offering financial incentives to resign. The Office of Personnel Management email said federal employees who resign by Feb. 6 will receive full pay and benefits until Sept. 30.

Employees at the Defense Health Agency who work on military bases in Colorado Springs received the offer, as well as those at the Forest Service, National Parks Service and Bureau of Land Management.

In the wake of the Jan. 28 directive, a coalition of unions filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, challenging the legality of the buyout and the ensuing widespread confusion.

U.S. District Court Judge George A. O’Toole, Jr., had delayed the deadline of the “Fork directive” until Monday, when a hearing was held in Boston.

Other states’ attorneys general that have joined the lawsuit include Arizona, California, Illinois, New Jersey and New York.

Supporters said the Trump administration is delivering on a promise.

“President Trump campaigned on a platform of making the federal government more efficient, including his promise to create a Department of Government Efficiency,” Thomas Schatz, president of Citizens Against Government Waste, had testified during a hearing a Congressional hearing on Feb. 5.

Trump has signed hundreds of executive orders since assuming office last month. Many of his orders are being challenged in court.