CNN —
The next stage of the Trump administration’s efforts to slash the federal workforce is underway.
Agency leaders have been told to begin preparations for large-scale layoffs, known as reductions in force, or RIFs, under an executive order President Donald Trump signed Tuesday. They will work with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to carry out the mandate, expanding the role of the billionaire’s team in reshaping federal government operations.
Titled “Implementing The President’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ Workforce Optimization Initiative,” the executive order also severely limits federal departments’ ability to bring on more staffers and mandates that agency heads closely coordinate with their DOGE representatives on future hiring plans. Once the hiring freeze that Trump put in place is lifted, agencies will only be allowed to replace one of every four employees who leave and hiring will be restricted to the highest-need areas.
Plus, agencies will not be able to fill vacancies for career positions that DOGE team leaders think should remain open, unless the department head determines they should be filled. DOGE leaders at each agency will file a monthly hiring report to DOGE.
The federal workforce of roughly 2.4 million people has already been rocked by Trump’s swift and multi-pronged attack, leading many to fear for their futures in public service. The president has already moved to dismantle certain initiatives and agencies and sideline their staffs, while Musk’s representatives have fanned out across federal departments and gained access to their internal systems. (Multiple courts have temporary blocked Musk and Trump’s plans.)
The reduction in force notice had been expected. The Trump administration last week promised widespread layoffs would take place among federal employees who did not take the deferred resignation offer, which has been paused by a federal judge. More than 65,000 workers have accepted the offer, though that still falls short of the White House’s target of getting 5% to 10% to resign.
The order calls for prioritizing reductions among federal offices that Trump has targeted in his first weeks in office, including all departments’ diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and agency efforts or operations that his administration suspends or closes, among others.
Also, departments will review what divisions – or entire agencies – “may be eliminated or combined because their functions aren’t required by law,” according to a White House fact sheet.
The order specifies that the reductions would not apply to public safety, immigration enforcement or law enforcement.
In the past three weeks, Trump has mandated that employees in any federal diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility offices be placed on paid administrative leave. He has moved to dismantle the US Agency for International Development, though a federal judge has temporarily blocked that plan. On Sunday, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau employees were told that the agency’s Washington, DC, headquarters would be closed this week and that they should work remotely.
