Trump Signs Order on DOGE ‘Workforce Optimization Initiative’
The order directs agencies to prepare for workforce reductions and hire one worker for every four that depart.
Published by The Lawfare Institute
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On Feb. 11, President Donald Trump signed an executive order purporting to reduce the federal workforce and implement the agenda of the newly-created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The order calls for the director of the Office of Management and Budget to submit a plan to reduce the size of the workforce, which will include a stipulation that agencies may “hire no more than one employee for every four employees that depart.” It further directs agency heads to prepare for “large-scale” reductions in force (RIFs), and states that agency heads should “separate from Federal service temporary employees and reemployed annuitants working in areas that will likely be subject to the RIFs.”
The order integrates DOGE with government agencies by requiring that agency heads consult their respective DOGE team leads on career appointment hires. It also states that DOGE Team Leads will prepare monthly hiring reports for the United States DOGE Service Administrator. (At this time, it is unclear who occupies the position. Elon Musk is the effective head of the department, but has not officially been named administrator.)
Agencies related to public safety, immigration enforcement, or law enforcement are exempt from these requirements.
Read the order here or below.
