Trump's Efficiency Method, Number of Federal Employees and Agencies in the US Cut

WASHINGTON, WEDNESDAY — United States President Donald Trump signed an executive order related to the downsizing of federal employees on Tuesday (2/11/2025). However, several of Trump's agendas have faced opposition from the judiciary.

Trump signed the order in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington DC, accompanied by Elon Musk, billionaire, Trump campaign donor, and head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk also brought along his four-year-old child.

Musk stated that federal employees are the fourth branch of government that is "unelected" by the people, but in many ways hold "greater authority than the elected representatives of the people."

He acknowledged that there are some good people in the federal government bureaucracy, but they also need to be held accountable. "The public voted for major reforms in the government and that is what they will get. That is democracy," said Musk.

This is Musk's first appearance, who often works behind the scenes, at the White House. Despite concerns about abuse of power and transparency, Musk claims to be an open person.

He also expected to be monitored, joking that it would be like “daily proctology exams.”

According to a White House fact sheet reviewed by the Associated Press, agencies will be implementing their own large-scale staffing cuts and determining which parts of the government (or, more likely, the agencies themselves) can be eliminated or merged. One of the reasons for the staffing cuts and agency cuts is that the functions of the departments or agencies are not required by law to exist.

The White House fact sheet also states that these agencies should employ no more than one employee for every four employees who resign. However, there are exceptions for employees working in sectors important to national security, public safety, law enforcement, and immigration handling.

Trump and Musk urge targeted federal employees to resign and they will be given financial incentive rewards. In this program, employees who are willing to resign will continue to be paid until September 30, 2025.

As many as 65,000 employees have accepted this offer. Currently, Trump's and Musk's plans are delayed as the judge is reviewing the legality of the policy.

In response to the Trump administration's decision, hundreds of people rallied across the street from the U.S. Capitol in support of federal workers on Tuesday (2/11/2025). Janet Connelly, a graphic designer at the Department of Energy, said she was disgusted by an email she received from the Office of Personnel Management that urged her to take a resignation program.

Connelly tried to use spam settings to filter out the emails, but failed. He still refused to accept the offer. He said his work was an essential service to the American public.

“It’s too easy (for them to badmouth us),” Connelly said.

Seattle union leader Helen Bottcher said federal workers are feeling fear and uncertainty. “They’re worried about their jobs and their families. They’re worried about their jobs and the communities they serve,” said the former Environmental Protection Agency employee.

A government lawyer, who declined to be named, said federal employees feared their phones and computers were being monitored. The lawyer's father urged her to work in the safer private sector, where he had to support his daughter alone.

He was skeptical of the proposed redundancy program. If employees accepted the offer, they would not be able to sue the government if they were not paid as agreed. “The idea was crazy,” the lawyer said.

Washington Democratic Sen. Patty Murray held a press conference on the issue, arguing that workers deserve better treatment than being threatened, intimidated and pushed out by Musk and Trump.

“We really need these people to stay employed or things are going to start getting worse,” Murray said.

In January 2025, the Trump administration issued a memo freezing federal grants, loans and other financial aid. Some of that trillion-dollar funding is aid to the federal government to pay for health care, education, transportation and a range of services.

The White House said the freeze would align federal spending with the president's priorities. The memo was later withdrawn.

After that, John McConnell, a district court judge in Rhode Island, temporarily blocked the freeze on grants, federal funds and financial aid. McConnell, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, led a legal challenge by a coalition of 22 states.

On Monday (10/2/2025), McConnell said the Trump administration had violated its own order to stop freezing federal grants and funds. Not all funds have been released, such as for early childhood education, pollution reduction, and HIV prevention research.

The funds were supposed to be released after January 31, 2025. McConnell issued an order for the government to release the funds immediately.

The Trump administration then appealed. “A district court judge sought to deprive the President of his power to ‘take care that the laws are faithfully executed.’ This state of affairs cannot be allowed to continue any longer,” government lawyers wrote.

But on Tuesday (2/11/2025), the U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston rejected the Trump administration's appeal of the lower court's ban on freezing federal funds. The court simply hopes that the lower court judge will soon clarify the order and continue considering the issue.

The administration’s loss in the legal battle frustrated White House officials’ efforts to advance Trump’s agenda. Judges also temporarily blocked Trump’s efforts to strip birthright citizenship, DOGE’s access to Treasury records and plans for mass layoffs of federal workers. (AP/Reuters)