White House orders agencies to prepare for large-scale firings
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The White House is directing federal agencies to prepare for large-scale layoffs, so-called reductions in force (RIF), according to guidance sent out by the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel Management on Wednesday.
Why it matters: To date, job cuts in the federal workforce have mostly affected probationary employees who are relatively easy to fire — RIFs are a more drastic step. Agencies were given two weeks to make plans for "significant" layoffs.
- Typically, in a RIF, positions are permanently eliminated.
- The guidance follows an executive order earlier this month requiring that agency heads prepare large-scale reductions in force.
Zoom in: Agencies must submit what the administration is calling "Phase 1 Agency RIF and Reorganization Plans" by March 13.
- Agencies should detail the number of full-time employees they can cut and detail the cost savings the cuts would provide over the next three years.
- The plans should include a "significant reduction" in full-time positions, per the guidance.
- "Agencies should focus on the maximum elimination of functions that are not statutorily mandated while driving the highest-quality, most efficient delivery of their statutorily-required functions."
By the numbers: There are about 2.3 million federal employees (not including the postal service). Thousands have recently been fired.
- The guidance doesn't appear to include any percentage target for cuts.
There are exemptions for postal workers, military personnel, political appointees and positions "necessary to meet law enforcement, border security, national security, immigration enforcement, or public safety responsibilities," per the guidance.
- Any cuts to workers who "provide direct services to citizens (such as Social Security, Medicare, and veterans' health care)" should not be implemented without first a review from OMB and OPM, per the document.
The rationale, the memo explains, is to consolidate duplicative functions and management layers, reduce "non-critical" positions, and implement technology that automates routine tasks.
- The document also asks agencies to cut their "real property footprint" and reduce their "budget topline."
Between the lines: Agency heads are directed to collaborate with the Department of Government Efficiency on these plans.
- There's been some friction lately between DOGE and agencies — as many pushed back over an Elon Musk-directed email to government workers over the weekend asking them, "What did you last week?"
- Musk threatened to fire workers who didn't respond, the White House then backed off that threat, but President Trump said Wednesday that workers who didn't respond are "on the bubble."
The big picture: The purge of the federal workforce began almost immediately when Trump took office.
- First, he called employees back to in-person work, a move that led some to resign.
- Then a so-called deferred resignation offer went out, telling workers if they voluntarily resigned they could receive eight months' pay.
- After that, federal agencies began firing so-called probationary workers — those in their positions for only a year or two (including some longtime federal workers who'd been recently promoted or taken on new roles).
- The administration has also fired many inspectors general and nearly the entire staff of USAID.
What we're watching: These latest firings, however, have the potential to dwarf the scale of the cuts that have already happened.
