President Donald Trump’s administration has ordered federal agencies to undertake massive cuts to the federal workforce. Meanwhile, the leader of the government’s downsizing efforts, Elon Musk, vowed during Trump’s first cabinet meeting to make further cuts to government spending.
A new administration memorandum directs agencies to submit plans by March 13 for a “substantial reduction” in federal personnel. The document does not specify the exact number of cuts being sought.
The memorandum, signed by White House Budget Director Russell Vought and acting head of the Office of Personnel Management Charles Ezell, represents a significant escalation of President Trump and Musk’s campaign to reduce the size of government.
So far, the cuts have focused on new employees, those on probation, who have less experience in their roles and enjoy fewer job protections. The next round will now target a broader group of career civil servants with longer tenure.
During the cabinet meeting, President Trump stated that Lee Zeldin, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, plans to cut up to 65% of the agency’s more than 15,000 employees.
On Tuesday, a source from the department managing federal lands and natural resources told Reuters that agencies such as the Fish and Wildlife Service or the Bureau of Indian Affairs should prepare for cuts ranging from 10% to 40%.
Since President Trump took office, approximately 100,000 of the 2.3 million federal civil servants have been dismissed or resigned.
President Trump gave Musk extraordinary support for the spending-cut campaign, inviting him to attend the government meeting and speak about his work with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which oversees these efforts. The DOGE department is not at the ministerial level.
Musk expressed confidence that he could cut $1 trillion from this year’s $6.7 trillion budget. Such an ambitious goal is likely to come with significant interruptions to government programs.
Without these deep spending cuts, Musk stated, “the country will essentially head toward bankruptcy.”
Later on Wednesday, President Trump signed an executive order directing agencies to cooperate with the DOGE department in reviewing and discontinuing all “unnecessary” contracts. The document also instructs the General Services Administration (GSA), which manages government buildings, to create a plan for selling unnecessary properties.
So far, President Trump and Musk have not been able to slow the pace of spending. According to an analysis by Reuters, the government spent 13% more in the first month of President Trump’s term compared to the same period a year earlier. This is largely due to high interest on debt and increased costs for health and pensions for an aging population.
President Trump reiterated his pledge not to cut popular programs for health and pensions, which account for nearly half of the budget.
“We’re not going to touch them,” said President Trump.
At the same time, the president is urging Congress to keep in place the tax cuts passed in 2017, one of the major achievements of his first term. These tax cuts are set to expire at the end of this year. The Budget Committee estimated that the 2017 tax cuts added $2.5 trillion to the national debt. The debt has now reached $36 trillion. It is estimated that if the tax cuts are kept in place, the cost could exceed $5 trillion over the next decade.
Republicans are considering cuts to healthcare and food assistance programs for the poor to offset the tax cuts. However, no details have been disclosed on this.
At-Risk Workers
Some cabinet secretaries were taken by surprise over the weekend when federal employees received an email asking them to list their accomplishments for the week, a request that Musk said would be followed by job dismissals if not met.
Some agencies instructed employees not to respond to the directive, causing several days of confusion over whether Musk and President Trump would enforce the dismissal measure.
Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, told cabinet members that the email was an attempt to find out whether government salaries were going to real workers.
“We think there are a number of people being paid by the government who are dead,” he said, offering no proof.
President Trump suggested that around 1 million federal workers who did not respond to the email drafted by Musk could be at risk of losing their jobs.
“They are overinflated,” he said, using a term referring to a situation with an uncertain outcome.
The unprecedented government reform led by President Trump and Musk has also frozen aid to other countries and halted construction projects and scientific research work.
The General Services Administration (GSA), which manages government properties, plans to cancel 1,100 contracts for government building space by the end of the year, according to a person familiar with the matter.
