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The new email, which was reviewed by The Associated Press, included an attached letter from VA's human resources department and a spreadsheet with a list of more than 130 occupations labeled “VA EXEMPTION REQUESTS.�

“It seems like it's almost everyone,� said Mary-Jean Burke, a physical therapist and American Federation of Government Employees leader. "We are trying to figure out who is eligible."

The occupations the VA deemed ineligible for the offer range from laundry workers and cooks to nurses, pharmacists and physicians. Those eligible, according to the VA's letter, include full-time probationary employees and possibly some employees who were going to retire in 2025. “The rules are changing day to day," said Irma Westmoreland, a registered nurse who heads the Veterans Affairs unit for National Nurses United. “What we do know is that the VA is already dealing with a serious shortage of nurses and we would never abandon our veterans.�

A VA spokesperson said the agency worked closely with the White House and the Office of Personnel Management to identify the occupations that aren't eligible for the resignation program. “Exempting these occupations from the program will ensure VA continues providing mission-critical health care, benefits and memorial services to our nation’s veterans, their families, caregivers and survivors,� the spokesperson said.

On Thursday, a federal judge temporarily blocked the deferred resignation program, which was orchestrated by . The judge ordered the Republican administration to extend the deadline until Monday.

Nurses for the VA — the federal government’s largest employer — comprise the biggest single group of federal workers, numbering more than 100,000 and accounting for 5% of all full-time permanent employees, according to an Associated Press analysis of personnel data.

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Associated Press writer Will Weissert in Washington contributed to this report.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.