The U.S. administration, under President Donald Trump, has initiated plans for widespread layoffs as part of a larger strategy to curb government expenditures.
At the first cabinet meeting, downsizing chief Elon Musk outlined a proposal to slash $1 trillion from the $6.7 trillion federal budget this year, a measure that could affect numerous government programs.
Trump assured that health and retirement benefits, which account for nearly half of the budget, would remain untouched. “We’re not going to touch it,” he stated. His sweeping government restructuring has already resulted in over 20,000 job cuts, a freeze on foreign aid, and disruptions to scientific research and construction projects.
Musk, who attended the meeting wearing a black “Make America Great Again” cap and a “tech support” t-shirt, warned of severe financial consequences if government spending isn’t curtailed. “If this continues, the country will go de facto bankrupt,” he said.
Meanwhile, Trump is pushing Congress to extend the 2017 tax cuts, a major legislative achievement from his first term, which are set to expire by the end of the year. The nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates that these cuts have already added $2.5 trillion to the national debt, which now stands at $36 trillion, and that extending them could increase the debt by more than $5 trillion over the next decade.
Thus far, the layoffs have primarily targeted probationary workers without full employment protections. However, the administration is now planning deeper reductions that will affect career federal employees.
A memo released before the cabinet meeting called for a “significant reduction” in the federal workforce but did not specify the exact number of job losses. So far, 100,000 of the nation’s 2.3 million civilian federal employees have either accepted a buyout or been dismissed.
The memo, signed by White House budget director Russell Vought and acting Office of Personnel Management head Charles Ezell, mandates that agencies submit their workforce reduction plans by March 13—one day before the current government funding is set to expire.
