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President Trump’s latest initiative to downsize the federal government enters a crucial phase as government agencies face a Thursday deadline to present their plans for extensive job cuts and budget reductions.
Various departments, including Treasury and Justice, must submit their cost-reduction strategies to both the White House and the Office of Personnel Management, potentially leading to the elimination of numerous federal positions.
This latest round of workforce reductions represents another step in Trump’s comprehensive plan to restructure federal bureaucracy, a project he has primarily delegated to tech entrepreneur Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency.
Under DOGE’s supervision, the administration has already eliminated over 100,000 positions from the federal civilian workforce of 2.3 million, while also implementing freezes on foreign aid and terminating numerous programs and contracts. These actions have sparked multiple legal challenges from labor unions, yielding mixed judicial outcomes.
Who thinks Karoline Leavitt just keeps getting better? 🙋🏼♀️
She just shut down this clown trying to ‘challenge’ her on tariffs and economics.
Tariffs = a tax cut for Americans
Fair trade balance = stronger wages, more jobs
Revenue stays here, not overseas! pic.twitter.com/Bce5FzU0c2
— Desiree (@DesireeAmerica4) March 11, 2025
The timing of these additional job cuts coincides with existing market uncertainty regarding Trump’s trade policies and their potential economic impact. Recently, Trump refrained from commenting on whether his tariff strategies might trigger a recession.
Public opinion data from a Reuters/Ipsos poll reveals that while 59% of Americans support reducing government size, an equal percentage opposes the current approach of massive federal worker terminations.
According to Rice University political science professor Mark Jones, Trump’s aggressive reform strategy appears driven by a desire to maximize his political capital before his post-election influence diminishes.
“The Trump administration knows that it has a limited time horizon,” Jones said. “The risk is they cut too much, or they don’t cut strategically, and it has negative blowbacks in terms of the ability of the federal government to function.”
This Schumer Shutdown tactic hurts federal workers and hurts Americans. Democrats are screaming and complaining about keeping the government funded at the same level it was last year, because they want to fight President Trump. pic.twitter.com/vfX6nYNBFd
— Sen. James Lankford (@SenatorLankford) March 13, 2025
The process began when Trump, alongside Musk, issued a February 11 executive order requiring agencies to prepare for “large-scale reductions in force,” commonly known as RIF.
OPM guidelines mandate significant reductions in full-time personnel, real estate holdings, budgets, and non-legally required functions.
Several agencies have already outlined their reduction targets. The Department of Veterans Affairs plans to cut over 80,000 positions, while the Education Department announced Tuesday it would reduce its 4,000-person workforce by nearly half. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration expects to eliminate more than 1,000 positions.
To minimize legal complications from RIF-related lawsuits, some agencies are offering voluntary early retirement packages with lump-sum payments.
While Trump and Musk maintain that government inefficiency wastes taxpayer money, DOGE’s claimed $105 billion in savings lacks comprehensive documentation and has faced scrutiny over accounting discrepancies and revisions.
