The President has issued an executive order to overhaul government operations. The move, dubbed the "Department of Government Efficiency" Workforce Optimization Initiative, aims to streamline the federal workforce and reduce bureaucratic excess. The administration is setting the stage for significant reductions in federal staff and reorganizing agency structures.
Under this new order, a detail from The White House, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) will submit a plan requiring agencies to hire one new employee for every four that leave, circumventing a broader hiring freeze applied to the Internal Revenue Service. Agency heads, in close consultation with appointed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) Team Leads, will craft data-driven hiring strategies geared towards placing new hires in critical need areas. Priority will be given to positions in public safety, immigration enforcement, and law enforcement, exempt from these hiring restrictions.
Additionally, agency leaders are expected to initiate large-scale Reductions in Force (RIFs), targeting offices and programs deemed non-essential or not mandated by law. Specifically mentioned for prioritization in these reductions are all agency diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives as well as operations suspended or closed by the current administration. According to the executive order, as detailed by The White House, "Agency Heads shall also adhere to the Federal Hiring Plan that will be promulgated pursuant to Executive Order 14170 of January 20, 2025 (Reforming the Federal Hiring Process and Restoring Merit to Government Service)."
The order also stipulates revisions to the criteria for employee suitability in federal service, factors such as failing to file tax returns or theft of government resources will be grounds for disqualification. As per The White House publication, "Rulemaking. Within 30 days of the date of this order, the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) shall initiate a rulemaking that proposes to revise 5 C.F.R. 731.202(b)." Furthermore, within 240 days after the order's commencement, the Administrator of the United States DOGE Service (USDS) must provide a report on the implementation of these policies, including recommendations for their potential modification or discontinuation.
