The US government is undergoing a major restructuring as President Donald Trump pushes federal agencies to devise plans for workforce reductions and program consolidations.
On Wednesday, senior officials initiated the process with a directive that expands Trump’s ongoing efforts to scale back what he sees as an overextended government. Thousands of probationary employees have already been dismissed, and now, the administration is shifting its focus to career civil servants with employment protections.
“We’re cutting down the size of government. We have to,” Trump stated during his first Cabinet meeting of his second term.
“We’re bloated. We’re sloppy. We have a lot of people that aren’t doing their job,” Trump said according to news agency AP.
The Trump administration’s move is expected to have nationwide consequences, as approximately 80 per cent of federal employees work outside of Washington, DC Essential services such as patent approvals, food safety inspections, and park maintenance may be disrupted depending on how the cuts are executed.
Opposition to the initiative is anticipated. Labor unions, Democratic state leaders, and advocacy groups have already used legal challenges to slow Trump’s previous efforts. Even some Republican lawmakers have expressed concerns about how deep budget cuts could impact their constituencies.
“Once you do this damage, it’s going to be incredibly hard to rebuild the capacity of these organizations,” said Don Moynihan, a public policy professor at the University of Michigan. “It’s not like you can turn the switch back on and everything is going to be the way it was before.”
Federal agencies have also been instructed to submit their workforce reduction plans by March 13. These proposals will not only outline layoffs but also specify which positions will be permanently eliminated. While no fixed targets have been disclosed, Trump has suggested that the Environmental Protection Agency, for instance, could reduce its workforce by 65 per cent.
By April 14, agencies must also present strategies for streamlining management, increasing efficiency, and potentially relocating offices to lower-cost regions outside Washington. The deadline for implementation is set for September 30.
Administration officials justify the initiative as both a fiscal necessity and a strategic shift.
“The federal government is costly, inefficient, and deeply in debt. At the same time, it is not producing results for the American public,” wrote Russell Vought, director of the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, and Charles Ezell, acting director of the Office of Personnel Management.
Vought, a key figure in shaping Trump’s second-term policies, has long advocated for concentrating power under the executive branch while dismantling entrenched bureaucracies.
Don Moynihan warned that the administration is exploiting executive power to reshape government operations without congressional approval.
“There’s a fundamental realignment of power here,” Moynihan said.
“This administration is saying we have much more power than any previous administration when it comes to deciding how government works,” he further told news agency AP.