Trump Planning Major Staff Cuts To Dozens More Agencies: Report
A newly surfaced internal memorandum from the Trump administration outlines an expansive and aggressive initiative aimed at significantly reducing personnel across numerous federal departments; the proposed measures include, most notably, cutting the workforce of the Treasury Department by approximately one-third, and implementing a dramatic 50 percent reduction in staffing at the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The document, drafted just a week prior, emerges alongside imminent Reductions in Force, which are projected to produce sweeping payroll cuts across the federal government; it also indicates that President Trump has instructed agency leaders to develop and submit individualized downsizing strategies, with the first wave of layoffs expected to begin as early as next month, according to reporting from the Washington Post.
Among the agencies facing the most substantial cuts, the Small Business Administration is slated for a 43 percent reduction in personnel, while HUD, echoing earlier reports, faces the steepest cut at 50 percent, all according to figures cited in the memo and reported by the Post.
The Department of Education, under the leadership of Secretary Linda McMahon, is reportedly under directive to halve its staff—a move anticipated to result in $6 billion in savings; meanwhile, the Justice Department’s comparatively modest 8 percent workforce reduction is expected to yield a fiscal benefit of $1.9 billion.
Other agencies, including some historically shielded from partisanship, are not exempt from this wave of austerity: the National Science Foundation, long regarded as a bipartisan priority, is facing a 28 percent cut, while the Commerce Department is bracing for a 30 percent reduction; the Treasury Department, which encompasses the IRS, is projected to eliminate nearly one-third of its employees.
Cabinet members have been openly supportive of these measures, frequently referencing the influence of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency—an entity that has garnered praise at both cabinet-level meetings and public forums; Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins remarked to DailyMail.com that “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.”
However, Rollins refrained from commenting on internal communications that had been sent to terminated probationary employees, which coldly stated that “based on your performance, you have not demonstrated that your further employment at the agency would be in the public interest”—a particularly controversial point given that some of those dismissed were reportedly involved in essential food inspection roles, a critical function during the ongoing management of a bird flu outbreak.
When asked to verify the contents of the internal memo, spokesperson Harrison Fields told DailyMail.com that “it’s no secret the Trump Administration is dedicated to downsizing the federal bureaucracy and cutting waste, fraud, and abuse,” but he also emphasized that “this document is a pre-deliberative draft and does not accurately reflect final reduction in force plans,” adding that final announcements would be made by agency secretaries “at the appropriate time.”
At the Department of Health and Human Services, Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has announced a reorganization that will eliminate 20,000 jobs, ultimately reducing the agency’s workforce from 82,000 to 62,000—a change that is projected to save $1.8 billion; included in this reconfiguration are 3,500 job cuts at the Food and Drug Administration, 2,400 at the Centers for Disease Control, and another 1,200 at the National Institutes of Health, according to the department’s fact sheet.
Discussing the broader financial implications on Fox News with anchor Bret Baier, Elon Musk—who has become a central figure in these reforms—commented that while he could not provide specific savings figures “so far,” the goal was clear: “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.”
Reflecting on missteps such as the dismissal and subsequent rehiring of nuclear safety personnel, Musk asserted, “When we do make mistakes we correct them quickly and we move on,” suggesting a level of adaptability within an otherwise rigid restructuring framework.