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CV NEWS FEED // President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday directing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to lead a sweeping reorganization of the federal government, aimed at streamlining operations, reducing the workforce, and cutting taxpayer costs.
According to a White House fact sheet, “Agency heads will coordinate and consult with DOGE to shrink the size of the federal workforce and limit hiring to essential positions.” The order also requires the Office of Personnel Management to “initiate a rulemaking to ensure federal employees are held to the highest standards of conduct.”
Elon Musk, head of DOGE, addressed reporters in the Oval Office Tuesday, shortly before Trump signed the executive order.
Musk explained that DOGE’s goal “is to restore democracy.”
“If the people cannot vote and have their will be decided by their elected representatives in the form of the president and the Senate and the House, then we don’t live in a democracy,” Musk said. “We live in a bureaucracy.”
The order follows Trump’s recent hiring freeze and buyout initiative, which aimed to shrink the federal workforce by offering employees eight months’ pay if they choose to resign rather than return to in-person work.
This week’s order determines that once the hiring freeze expires, federal agencies may hire no more than one employee for every four who leave. Exceptions apply to law enforcement, national security, public safety, and immigration positions.
Reducing national debt – which “jumped more than $7.5 trillion” under the Biden-Harris administration according to the New York Post – is a key priority for Trump’s second term and a central focus of DOGE.
The federal workforce has contributed to the rising national debt, which now stands at over $36 trillion. The White House recorded that in 2022, “the federal government spent nearly $300 billion on compensation for civilian employees.”
Still, only 6% of federal workers report to work in-person daily, according to a recent Congressional report.
Shortly after the executive order’s release, Texas Republican Rep. Brandon Gill weighed in on the widespread support for Trump’s move to curb the federal government’s spending.
In a video posted to X, Gill argued that Trump’s high approval rating indicates “This is what the American people want.”
Read the full executive order here.
