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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowPresident Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday that requires federal agencies to work with the U.S. Doge Service to cut their existing workforce and limit future hiring—the most explicit statement yet by the president that he supports “large-scale” cuts to the federal workforce.
The executive order gives billionaire Elon Musk’s DOGE, tasked with finding government inefficiencies, even more power than it has amassed in the first three weeks of the new administration. The order installs a “DOGE Team Lead” at each agency and gives that person oversight over hiring decisions. DOGE stands for Department of Government Efficiency.
The directive instructs agency heads, after the hiring freeze expires, to recruit no more than one employee for every four who depart from the federal government, with exemptions for personnel and functions “related to public safety, immigration enforcement, or law enforcement.” And it orders agency heads to “promptly undertake preparations to initiate large-scale reductions in force, consistent with applicable law.”
Eliminating 25 percent of federal employees would cut the overall budget by about 1 percent. Semafor first reported that Trump would sign the executive order.
“We are going to be signing a very important deal today,” Trump said from the Oval Office. “It’s DOGE.” He said that his administration had found “billions and billions of dollars in waste, fraud and abuse.”
Beside him was Musk, who said: “If the bureaucracy is in charge, then what meaning does democracy actually have?”
“It does not match the will of the people, so it’s just something we’ve got to fix,” he added.
Neither Trump nor Musk provided specifics about the corruption they found or how they plan to address it.
Musk called federal employees an “unelected” fourth branch of government that needed to be held accountable. It was Musk’s first public appearance since assuming control of the new Department of Government Efficiency, which he and his employees have largely conducted in secret and without accountability.
The Tuesday directive builds on executive orders and corresponding memos aimed at reshaping the bureaucracy made up of 2.3 million civilian employees into a smaller workforce loyal to Trump and his vision. DOGE so far has moved to dismantle some U.S. agencies, pushed out hundreds of thousands of civil servants and gained access to some of the federal government’s most sensitive payment systems—prompting fierce pushback in the courts.
Trump on Tuesday criticized the judicial rulings, saying that “it seems hard to believe that judges want to try and stop us from looking for corruption.”
He threatened to “look at the judges because that’s very serious,” but later said he would “always abide by the courts” and appeal their findings.
Last week, a federal judge halted the Trump administration’s “deferred resignation program,” which offers federal workers a way to quit and receive pay through September, while weighing a legal challenge. The program is the Trump administration’s most sweeping attempt yet to drastically cut the federal government.
“They’re getting a good deal. They’re getting a big buyout,” Trump said Tuesday of the program. “What we’re trying to do is reduce government. We have too many people.”
Trump said federal office space is “occupied by 4 percent.” But that number conflicts with a congressionally mandated report issued in August by the Office of Management and Budget, which found that federal employees who were eligible for telework were still spending more than 60 percent of their work hours on-site.
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25% workforce reduction for a 1% savings. That’s a great ROI… said no one. It’s like Musk is the future fall guy for Trump. He can do Trumps bidding, get voted out/eliminated after doing economic damage, and suffer no consequences.
The cheerleaders are ignoring tail risk. There is a find out part to eliminating transportation safety, intelligence, public health, emergency response, the justice system, support of agriculture, food and drug safety, etc.
They’re trying to reimplement the system of graft and patronage that existed over 100 years ago. There are reasons why that went away …
People who don’t study history are doomed to repeat it.
I think if I were a government employee and good at my job, I’d get a few of my friends who were also good at their jobs, take the package, and then set up a consulting company to bid on doing the work I did as a government employee…only at a much higher rate. The work still will need to be done, and those who know how to do it should be well positioned in about 10 months to win those consultant contracts…
When Trusk and Mumps and their ilk are done tearing out the employed federal work force and have substitured consulants at a higher cost, the Congress should recover the extra expense from Trusk and Mumps individually. Especiallly Mumps, who is apparently not a government employee.
“Does not match the will of the people”
You mean the same people who were told that, sure all this was written down in Project 2025, but Trump disavowed that, remember? And claimed that none of the people who were involved would be in his administration?
Right before he … got elected and installed all the people who wrote Project 2025, who set about implementing Project 2025.
So either … this isn’t the actually the will of the people, because they were lied to, or it’s just assumed that Donald Trump can’t be trusted and you can’t believe a single word he says. Or, both …
When do we get our Lords and Duchies?
I wonder how many of the above commentators pay taxes….If so, you must be fine with $36 Trillion in debt and a $2 Trillion plus deficit!!!
Are you insane??? The money that is “wasted” finds its way back to Democrats, their media, etc. and you folks are just fine with that!
How about we fund National Defense, Medicare and Social Security and do away with 90% of the rest. If you think all hell will break loose you’re crazy!! Make the ones on the national dole go get real jobs that add real value!!!
It’s always nice for the folks who actually believe news from conservative media to self-identify.
90% of the rest won’t make a difference in the deficit. The issue is that we don’t collect enough.
Republicans have full control of the executive and legislative branches, why not just do this as laid out in the Constitution?
John, it’s a 1% savings for the national budget, but damages countless agencies. It’s not worth it. Some of items you mentioned (don’t forget corporate welfare) is “hands off” yet costs the tax payer BILLIONS of dollars every year. Make it make sense.
Its funny how the three things you mentioned are already by far and away the largest budget items and defense is notoriously our biggest area of waste (building ships and planes that we don’t need or don’t work).
Gutting the agencies that are investigating his companies (and future tax breaks) are the motivation for Musk’s actions:
https://twitter.com/lisawborden/status/1889385084727296126