WASHINGTON – A memo distributed by President Donald Trump’s administration mandates that federal agencies must devise plans to remove employee positions. This directive initiates a potential significant restructuring of the American government.
This memo is an extension of the Republican president’s initiative to reduce the federal workforce, which he views as excessively large and a hindrance to his policy objectives. Numerous probationary employees have already been terminated, and now the administration is focusing on career officials who have civil service protections.
By March 13, agencies are required to present their plans for executing a reduction in force, which involves not only laying off staff but also eliminating their positions entirely. This could result in significant alterations to the government’s operational framework.
“The federal government is costly, inefficient, and deeply in debt,” said the memo from Russell Vought, director of the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, and Charles Ezell, acting director of the Office of Personnel Management, which functions as a human resources agency. “At the same time, it is not producing results for the American public.”
Trump foreshadowed this goal in an executive order that he signed with Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur who is advising Trump on overhauling the government.
The order said agency leaders “shall promptly undertake preparations to initiate large-scale reductions in force,” or RIF.
Some departments have already begin this process.
The General Services Administration, which handles federal real estate, told employees on Monday that a reduction in force was underway and they would “everything in our power to make your departure fair and dignified.”
The memo came as Trump prepared for the first Cabinet meeting of his second term. He planned to include Musk, who oversees the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that “all of the Cabinet secretaries take the advice and direction of DOGE.”
“They’ll be providing updates on their efforts, and they’ll also be providing updates on what they’re doing at their agencies in terms of policies and implementing the promises that the president made on the campaign trail,” Leavitt said.
Musk has caused turmoil within the federal workforce, most recently by demanding that employees justify their jobs or risk getting fired. OPM later said that the edict was voluntary.
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