U.S. President Donald Trump escalated his wholesale assault on the federal government and its workforce on Wednesday by ordering agencies to submit plans for mass firings by March 13 as the destructive impacts of the new administration's onslaught ripple across the country.
The president's order came in the form of a memo from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)—headed by Project 2025 architect Russell Vought—and the Office of Personnel Management, an agency overtaken by lieutenants of billionaire Elon Musk.
Citing Trump's call for "large-scale reductions in force" across the federal government, the memo states that agencies "should focus on the maximum elimination of functions that are not statutorily mandated while driving the highest-quality, most efficient delivery of their statutorily-required functions."
"Agencies should also seek to consolidate areas of the agency organization chart that are duplicative; consolidate management layers where unnecessary layers exist; seek reductions in components and positions that are non-critical; implement technological solutions that automate routine tasks while enabling staff to focus on higher-value activities; close and/or consolidate regional field offices to the extent consistent with efficient service delivery; and maximally reduce the use of outside consultants and contractors," the memo adds.
HuffPost reporter Jennifer Bendery characterized the new memo as consistent with the wrecking-ball approach that Trump and Musk have taken over the past month as they've moved aggressively to eviscerate federal departments and funding, running roughshod over the law in the process.
"This order is the equivalent of putting on a blindfold and smashing everything, without knowing what you're destroying or how many people it hurts," Bendery wrote on social media.
Kevin Owen, an employment lawyer who represents federal workers, toldThe Associated Press that the latest memo from OMB and OPM "looks like a plan for a significant and shocking reduction of the federal workforce that I don't think the American people are prepared for."
"It's going to cripple a lot of government functions," Owen warned.
"Musk is failing up in this administration because he didn't earn his job, he bought it. It's corrupt, and risks Americans' health and safety."
The order came as communities across the country grappled with the consequences of the Trump administration's mass terminations of federal workers and illegal withholding of funds approved by Congress, which is now in the grip of a GOP that has proven subservient to the president.
The federal government is the single-largest employer in the United States, and Trump and Musk's effort to gut entire departments could have far-reaching and devastating economic impacts.
The Washington Postreported earlier this month that "the Trump administration's move to fire thousands of federal employees could have a swift and severe impact on public services... making it harder for veterans to get mental healthcare and hampering electric service to some rural residents as a beleaguered workforce struggles to cover for lost colleagues."
"In an Energy Department subagency that helps provide power, staff who handled homeowners' electricity bills were fired, employees said, potentially leaving no one to take the money that keeps their lights on," the newspaper added. "In one state, all but two of the employees who helmed an Agriculture Department program assisting poor rural communities were fired. And in a tiny Wyoming town, a Forest Service office that has spent decades providing support to hikers, Christmas tree permits to residents, and firewood for the elderly has been forced to shutter, a staffer said."
In some cases, the Trump administration has rushed to rescind terminations after employees responsible for food safety reviews, the federal bird flu response, and nuclear security were caught up in the mass firings—accidentally, the administration claims. Some federal employees have been reinstated by court order.
During the first Cabinet meeting of the second Trump administration on Wednesday, Musk—who is not a Cabinet official—admitted that his so-called Department of Government Efficiency "accidentally" canceled Ebola prevention efforts as it worked to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), who represents many federal workers, wrote in response that "an average person who did something as incompetent as 'accidentally canceling Ebola prevention' wouldn't be applauded, they'd be fired."
"Musk is failing up in this administration because he didn't earn his job, he bought it," Beyer added. "It's corrupt, and risks Americans' health and safety."