New York
CNN
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As President-elect Donald Trump’s administration prepares to take over Washington, some federal employees are quietly changing the language of job descriptions and performance reviews in an effort to protect roles and critical government functions in the face of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who Trump tapped to lead the outside initiative, have said they plan to recommend slashing the federal workforce, cutting the government’s annual budget by at least $1 trillion, and curbing regulations.

Ahead of the initiative’s deployment, five sources familiar with the effort, including senior staffers from multiple agencies, told CNN that some workers are removing mentions of “policy” decision-making and terms related to diversity programs from written job descriptions, duties, and performance reviews to protect the roles from possible cuts.

“People are definitely reimagining how to communicate what they’ve done and do to try and escape scrutiny,” one federal employee told CNN.

Even among those who support efforts to streamline the government and make it more efficient, some fear the effort will be ham-handed. One concern among federal workers is that DOGE will suggest cuts using a “hatchet not a scalpel” and utilize artificial intelligence to target buzzwords in job descriptions without carefully studying the roles, some said.

DOGE does not have any direct power to make spending cuts, regulatory changes or other moves —– that authority belongs to Congress — though Musk’s comments have been shown to carry weight with lawmakers. While the DOGE effort exists outside of the government and will likely provide recommendations, Musk is reportedly set to have an office inside the White House.

Representatives for DOGE, Musk and Ramaswamy did not respond to CNN requests for comment.

The employees CNN spoke with said the moves were not part of a larger, coordinated effort across agencies. Instead, managers in some agencies are taking it upon themselves — some under the directive of the agency’s top appointees — to safeguard positions and policies. While some are concerned about losing their jobs and livelihoods, multiple employees told CNN they were also trying to protect roles critical to an agency’s function.

President-elect Donald Trump, who has derided civil servants as agents of the “deep state,” promised on the campaign trail to reinstate a 2020 executive order known as Schedule F which created a new job category for federal employees in policy-related positions. The order removed much of the federal protections for civil servants, making it easier to fire workers. President Joe Biden has later cancelled the order shortly after taking office.

Ahead of the order’s possible reinstatement, one senior staffer said they were advised by their agency’s “front office” to edit “any job description that mentioned policy.”

“Managers could elect to just quietly tweak a career officials’ job description so that the functionality of the job stayed the same but would say ‘provide guidance’ instead of ‘provide policy guidance’,” the staffer told CNN. “It makes their role seem less policy and political orientated.”

Other federal employees said there was more of a focus on editing out anything related to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs (DEI) efforts that have become a right-wing bogeyman Musk has vowed to purge from the government.

Another staffer at a different agency said that since Election Day, more people have stopped the use of DEI terms in performance appraisals and in hiring processes.

One person familiar with the effort said some federal employees fear that could mean roles that have nothing to do with DEI policies will be targeted as well. As one example, the person said employees may edit job descriptions for finance roles that use the words “equity” or “diversification,” even though they have nothing to do with DEI programs. The fear, the person said, is the incoming administration will attempt to cut anything with these buzzwords without looking closely at the context.

Jason Briefel, head of policy and legislative affairs at the Senior Executive Association, which represents thousands of the most senior career members of the federal government, confirmed to CNN some individuals at federal agencies are making edits around issues like DEI policies.

“It’s in line with what lots of organizations and the private sector are doing, changing the words they use,” Briefel said.