By Tim Reid, Valerie Volcovici and Ned Parker WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Fearful U.S. government workers weighed whether to take a buyout offer from the Trump administration ahead of a Thursday deadline, as officials pressed ahead with a restructuring effort that could dramatically shrink the U.

Learn about how at least 20,000 federal employees have accepted the Trump administration's government buyout offer.

The Trump administration warned federal workers Tuesday that the “majority” of government agencies will be downsized and that a buyout offer extended last week will not be renewed. The so-called “Deferred Resignation” program offers more than 2 million federal employees unwilling to comply with a return to office mandate about eight months of pay and benefits if they resign before midnight on Thursday.