 "Trump orders more layoffs as Musk pledges deeper cuts at first Cabinet meeting")
US President Donald Trump’s administration on Wednesday directed federal agencies to prepare for more large-scale layoffs.
This comes just after Trump’s first cabinet meeting, where Department of Government Efficiency (DoGE) chief Elon Musk pledged deeper spending cuts.
A new memo ordered agencies to submit plans by 13 March for “significant” staff reductions, adding to the job cuts and programme reductions already in place. However, it did not specify how many positions would be affected.
The memo, signed by White House budget director Russell Vought and acting OPM chief Charles Ezell, is another move by Trump and Musk to shrink the U.S. government.
So far, layoffs have mainly affected probationary workers with less job security. The next round will target more experienced civil servants.
At the cabinet meeting, Trump said EPA chief Lee Zeldin plans to cut up to 65 per cent of the agency’s 15,000 employees.
On Tuesday, an Interior Department source told Reuters that bureaus such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Bureau of Indian Affairs should prepare for workforce reductions ranging from 10 per cent to 40 per cent.
Around 100,000 of the nation’s 2.3 million civilian federal workers have been fired or taken buyouts since Trump took office.
Trump gave Musk an extraordinary sign of support for the cost-cutting campaign by inviting the billionaire to the cabinet meeting and asking him to speak about the work of his Department of Government Efficiency, which is overseeing the overhaul.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsAs cabinet secretaries looked on, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO—wearing a black “Make America Great Again” baseball cap and a t-shirt that read “tech support”—expressed confidence that he can cut the $6.7 trillion budget by $1 trillion this year. That extremely ambitious target would likely entail significant disruption of government programmes.
With inputs from Reuters
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