Trump Planning Major Staff Cuts To Dozens More Agencies: Report
A confidential Trump administration document outlines a sweeping initiative to reduce the federal workforce, including cutting the Treasury Department’s staff by a third and halving the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s personnel.
This memo, reportedly drafted last week, emerges as federal agencies brace for significant workforce reductions. President Trump has instructed agency heads to formulate downsizing strategies, with large-scale layoffs anticipated to commence next month, as reported by the Washington Post.
Among the agencies facing substantial reductions, the Small Business Administration is set to lose 43 percent of its staff, while HUD will see a 50 percent decrease, according to the document cited by the Post.
At the Department of Education, Secretary Linda McMahon has been tasked with cutting personnel by 50 percent, a move projected to yield $6 billion in savings. Similarly, an 8 percent reduction at the Justice Department is expected to result in an additional $1.9 billion in cost reductions.
The National Science Foundation, which has historically enjoyed bipartisan financial support, is scheduled for a 28 percent budget cut, while the Commerce Department is expected to experience a 30 percent reduction in its workforce.
The Treasury Department, which encompasses the Internal Revenue Service, is facing a workforce reduction of approximately 30 percent.
Cabinet members have been praising the cost-cutting efforts spearheaded by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency in official meetings and public statements.
Among them is Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, who emphasized to DailyMail.com, “the bottom line is that the entire cabinet is aligned, is supportive and understands the president’s vision that is being effectuated by Elon Musk and in partnership with all of the agencies, of course USDA, one of the largest agencies, over 100,000 employees … some of the Reductions in Force that we’re doing. We will never stop working for the American people.”
She did not comment on emails sent to dismissed probationary employees, which stated, “based on your performance, you have not demonstrated that your further employment at the agency would be in the public interest.” Some of these employees were responsible for food inspections, a particularly crucial role as the government navigates a bird flu outbreak.
“It’s no secret the Trump Administration is dedicated to downsizing the federal bureaucracy and cutting waste, fraud, and abuse,” Harrison Fields told DailyMail.com when asked about the memo.
“This document is a pre-deliberative draft and does not accurately reflect final reduction in force plans. When President Trump’s Cabinet Secretaries are ready to announce reduction in force plans, they will make those announcements to their respective workforces at the appropriate time,” he added.
At the Department of Health and Human Services, Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. detailed a restructuring effort that will eliminate 20,000 positions, reducing the agency’s workforce from 82,000 to 62,000—a move estimated to save $1.8 billion.
“The restructuring will address this and serve multiple goals without impacting critical services,” the agency stated in an earlier release.
An HHS fact sheet outlined planned personnel reductions, including 3,500 positions at the Food and Drug Administration, 2,400 at the Centers for Disease Control, and 1,200 at the National Institutes of Health. Musk, speaking with Bret Baier on Fox News, discussed the projected financial benefits, though he did not disclose precise figures on savings “so far.”
“At a high level … we want to reduce the spending by eliminating waste—reduce the spending by 15%. Which seems really quite achievable. The government is not efficient and there is a lot of waste and fraud,” he told the Fox host.
He also acknowledged certain high-profile errors, including the dismissal and subsequent rehiring of nuclear safety personnel. “When we do make mistakes we correct them quickly and we move on,” Musk stated.