WASHINGTON (AP) – Federal Agencies must develop plans to eliminate the functions of employees, according to a memo that is distributed on Wednesday by the government of President Donald Trump, which triggers what a radical repeat of the US government could become.
The Memo expands the efforts of the Republican President to reduce the federal workforce that he has described as an obstacle to his agenda. Thousands of probation workers have already been fired and now his administration focuses on career officers with the protection of officials.
“We reduce the size of the government. We must, “said Trump during the first cabinet meeting of his second term.” We are blown up. We are sloppy. We have many people who don't do their work. “
Familiar news and daily pleasure, exactly in your inbox
Watch yourself-the Yodel is the source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories.
On 13 March, agencies must submit their plans for what is known as a reduction of strength, which would not only dismiss employees, which would not only dismiss the position, but would eliminate the position completely. The result can be extensive changes in the way the government functions.
More plans are due on April 14, when agencies are expected to sketch how they will consolidate management, become more efficient and possibly move offices to parts of the country that are cheaper than Washington. The memo said that agencies should implement their plans before September 30.
Administration officials have drawn up their efforts as a cost -saving measure, but with a clear ideological purpose.
“The federal government is expensive, inefficient and deep in debt. At the same time, it does not produce any results for the American public, “said the Memo van Russell Vought, director of the office of the White House, and Charles Ezell, acting director of the Office of Personnel Management, which as a Human Resources Agency. hurt hard -working American citizens. “
Kevin Owen, a lawyer from employment law who represents federal employees, compared the initiative of the administration with the type of disruptions caused by the government's closure during distance budgets.
“This looks like a plan for an important and shocking reduction in the federal workforce that I don't think the American people are prepared,” said Owen. “It is going to paralyze many government positions.”
He said that Trump and his allies concentrated on speed instead of precision while they overhaul the government.
“Their plan is to cause the damage and to be charged,” he said. If a court eventually rules against them: “By that moment they would have received what they wanted in Interim.”
Specific goals for reductions were not included in the memo, but Trump said that the Environmental Protection Agency could reduce its workforce by 65%.
Trump in advance shaded the effort in an executive order that he signed with Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur who supervises the so-called Ministry of Government Efficiency, known as Doge.
The order that the leaders of the agency '' will make immediate preparations to initiate large -scale reductions in strength ', or Rif.
Some departments have already started this process. The General Services Administration, which handles federal real estate, told employees on Monday that a reduction was underway and they would “everything in our power to make your departure fair and worthy.”
Legal enforcement, national security, public safety, military functions and American post service positions are exempt.
The memo was released shortly before Trump brought together cabinet officials and Musk, who attended the meeting with a black campaignat “Make America Great Again”.
Musk described himself during the meeting as “modest technical support” for the federal government, and he spoke about his cost -saving crusade in existential terms.
“If we don't do this, America will go bankrupt,” he said.
Musk has caused unrest within the federal workforce, most recently by demanding that employees justify their jobs or run the risk of being fired. Onm later said that the edict was voluntary, although employees could get similar requests in the future.
He described his request as a 'pulse control'.
“Are these people real? Do they live? And can they write an e -mail? He said.
For the meeting, the Pers Secretary of the White House Karoline Leavitt told reporters that “all cabinet secretaries adopt the advice and direction of Doge.”
“They give updates about their efforts, and they will also provide updates on what they do in terms of policy and implement the promises that the president has made on the campaign track,” Leavitt said.
