Federal agencies will need to submit layoff plans to the White House and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) on Thursday as the Trump administration works to slim and streamline the federal government.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on February 11, ordering leaders of federal agencies to “preparations to commence major cuts.” The order focused on eliminating employees in offices that have been suspended or closed by the Trump administration. This is a role that was considered not essential during government closures and temporary employees.
The executive order provided that layoff plans do not affect roles related to “public safety, immigration enforcement, or law enforcement.”
On February 26, the Office of Management, Budget and OPM, which serves as the federal government's Human Resources Office, issued guidance to its agent managers to force compliance with major reductions until March 13, in order to submit an “agency reorganization plan.”
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President Donald Trump signed an executive order on February 11, ordering leaders of federal agencies to “preparations to commence major cuts.” (Curl coat/pool/Getty Images)
“The federal government is expensive, inefficient and indebted,” reads OPM and OMB guidance. “At the same time, it's not producing results for the American people. Instead, taxes are sucked up to fund unproductive and unnecessary programs that benefit radical interest groups while hurting hardworking American citizens.
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Some agent managers have already submitted plans or have announced plans to sabotage their respective departments. For example, the Department of Education announced on Tuesday it was rolling out its reduction plan, which affected nearly 50% of its staff and translated to a close to 1,300 endings.
“Today's power cuts reflect efficiency, accountability and the Ministry of Education's commitment to ensuring that resources are directed to students, parents and teachers where they are most important,” Director Linda McMahon said. “We appreciate the work and contributions of our dedicated civil servants to the department. This is an important step in restoring the greatness of the American education system.”
The Ministry of Education, led by Linda McMahon, announced on March 11, 2025 that it was rolling out a plan to cut back on the strengthening plan, affecting nearly 50% of its staff and translated to a close to 1,300 endings. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Lee Zeldin announced Wednesday that it will close the Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights Office, the Comprehensive Excellence Office and the Environmental Justice department within the EPA Regional Office to comply with the Trump Order.
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NASA announced on Monday that it would close three offices. The Office of Technology, Policy and Strategy, Chief Scientists' Office, and Diversity Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility Office as part of “Stage-Dimensions.”
The Veterans Affairs Bureau began firing employees early in March after announcing its firing of around 76,000 employees in February as part of its mission to return staffing levels under the first Trump administration in 2019.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced that it fired more than 1,000 employees in March, accounting for roughly 20% of its total staff.
The IRS was employed mostly under the Biden administration while the CIA fired about 12,000 employees while it fired a private number of probation employees. The Pentagon fired about 5,400 probation employees in February.
Probation employees are individuals who have not yet secured permanent employment, including new hires and those who have recently been transferred to new roles within the government.
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The IRS is currently laying off about 12,000 employees. (ge)
Cabinet Secretaries and agency leaders are working with the government's Efficiency Bureau, led by Elon Musk, to cut spending and cut the entire federal workforce, while agency leaders have a final say in the end.
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Thursday's deadline comes after the administration has already provided about 2 million employees who have paid federal salaries with a buyout offer already known as the “fork on the road” offer. Approximately 75,000 employees received an offer by the deadline until February 12th to provide eight months of salary and benefits.
Cabinet secretaries and agency leaders are reducing spending and reducing the entire federal workforce, alongside the efficiency of the government led by Elon Musk. (Fox News)
Fox News Digital contacted the White House on Thursday to request additional comment on the layoff plan but did not receive an immediate reply.
The OPM and OMB directives pointed out that Social Security, Medicare and Veterans Healthcare will not be affected by the Thursday deadline and will instruct the appropriate agency managers not to carry out layoffs until the two offices are able to confirm plans for such layoffs.
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Trump was asked about a massive layoff from his oval office on Wednesday. Among them, he bucked the notion that layoffs weaken the labor market.
“I think the labor market will be great,” Trump told the media when asked about a potentially weakened labor market. There were too many people in the government. You can't do that. There were a lot, too many for us. This is forty years, you know, this is not now. This accumulated and worsened, and they hired more and more people. ”
President Donald Trump has campaigned and defended states that have broader authority over policies and issues ranging from access to abortion, disaster relief preparation, and education responses. (Chris Kleponis/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Trump has campaigned and defended states with broader authority over policies and issues ranging from abortion, disaster relief preparation to education responses.
The president on Wednesday said the Department of Education should shift especially from the federal level to allow states to personally control their systems, claiming the US is dragging them academically behind countries like Norway and China.
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“We want education to be given by the state,” he said. Move from the bottom of the list to the top of the list and actually saves money. ”
