WASHINGTON — Two senior Trump administration officials wrote in a memo to the heads of all executive branch departments and agencies on Wednesday that they should be prepared to begin the process of “large-scale reductions in force” by March 13.

It comes as Trump, through billionaire Elon Musk and the U.S. DOGE Service, has purged thousands of federal employees and gutted entire agencies of staff and funding in the name of reforming “the bloated, corrupt federal bureaucracy,” as the officials put it in the memo, which was obtained by Spectrum News.

Many of the workers already fired — scores more have resigned or seen their programs all but eliminated —  were probationary employees with less than a year of service at their current position. But now thousands of career civil servants are on the cutting block, according to Russell Vought, director of the White House's Office of Management and Budget, and Charles Ezell, acting director of the Office of Personnel Management, which functions as a human resources agency.

What You Need To Know

  • Two senior Trump administration officials wrote in a memo to the heads of all executive branch departments and agencies on Wednesday that they should be prepared to begin the process of “large-scale reductions in force” by March 13

  • It comes as Trump, through billionaire Elon Musk and the U.S. DOGE Service, has purged thousands of federal employees and gutted entire agencies of staff and funding in the name of reforming “the bloated, corrupt federal bureaucracy,” as the officials put it in the memo, which was obtained by Spectrum News

  • Many of the workers already fired were probationary employees with less than a year of service at their current position, but now thousands of career civil servants are on the cutting block
  • Musk has caused turmoil within the federal workforce, most recently by demanding that employees justify their jobs or risk getting fired. OPM later said that the edict was voluntary

"The federal government is costly, inefficient, and deeply in debt,” said the memo. “At the same time, it is not producing results for the American public.”

Trump foreshadowed this goal in an executive order that he signed with Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur who is advising Trump on overhauling the government.

The order said agency leaders “shall promptly undertake preparations to initiate large-scale reductions in force,” or RIF.

Some departments have already begun this process.

The General Services Administration, which handles federal real estate, told employees Monday that a reduction in force was underway and they would do “everything in our power to make your departure fair and dignified.”

The memo came as Trump prepared for the first Cabinet meeting of his second term. He planned to include Musk, who oversees the so-called Department of Government Efficiency.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that “all of the Cabinet secretaries take the advice and direction of DOGE.”

“They’ll be providing updates on their efforts, and they’ll also be providing updates on what they’re doing at their agencies in terms of policies and implementing the promises that the president made on the campaign trail,” Leavitt said.

Musk has caused turmoil within the federal workforce, most recently by demanding that employees justify their jobs or risk getting fired. OPM later said that the edict was voluntary.

Workers determined to be providing vital services, such as those working to monitor and combat the spread of bird flu, have since been asked back after initially being fired.