“Most of us are watching cautiously and letting the dust settle,” an employee at the U.S. Agency for International Development told the outlet. “We know that there is a range of possible outcomes, and some people are panicking, but most are taking a wait-and-see approach.”

Sources said the White House has discussed testing a message system where President Donald Trump could message the federal government's 2 million civilian employees.

An earlier memo from the Office of Personnel Management had asked agency heads to submit written plans by Jan. 31 for dismissing employees.