Two sources speaking on condition of anonymity said the Office of Personnel Management is preparing for a second wave of mass federal layoffs in President Donald Trump‘s second term.
Reuters reported Monday that the agency, which serves as the federal government’s human resources, is quickly working to close or shrink entire departments. Sources told Reuters the actions will serve as a template for the next round of layoffs for government workers.
Trump signed an executive order on his inauguration day, January 20, to force federal workers to return to offices and cease remote work. He has also vowed to cut government waste and layoff unessential workers.
OPM eliminated its entire 40-member procurement team and gutted a group that oversaw sensitive employee data. An OPM spokesperson did not respond to Reuters for comment.
The majority of the federal government’s 2.3 million civilian workers are career employees, and the next phase of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) downsizing is eliminating career employees.
So far layoffs have been with voluntary resignation and firing probationary employees, which totals 95,000 individuals. However, the second wave of job cuts would target hundreds of thousands of additional workers.
OPM also eliminated 20 workers who were on a communications team and seven-member diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) team.
“The American people have trusted the United States Armed Forces to protect them and our Constitution for 250 years. Our military leaders swear an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic, not an oath to do the bidding of one man,” Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan of Virginia said Friday after Trump fired Air Force General Charles Q. Brown, Jr. as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
McClellan said Trump is determined in his second term “to purge the best and the brightest from our military leadership unless they swear blind loyalty to him, even if it threatens our national security priorities and military readiness. That is not a meritocracy.”
“After installing the least qualified Secretary of Defense to lead the Pentagon because of his blind loyalty, President Trump has unjustifiably fired General Charles Q. Brown, Jr. as Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. General Brown is a four-star general and former combat pilot who served in the Air Force for three decades, whom Trump himself called a ‘Patriot and Great Leader’ when nominating him to be Air Force Chief of Staff in 2020. General Brown was confirmed by a 98-0 Senate vote for that position, and served admirably in both that role and as Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.”
According to McClellan, Brown devoted more than 40 years of his life to serving the United States and advanced the nation’s security priorities.
“He has played an integral role in our nation’s efforts to end the war in Ukraine and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The first Black Chief of Staff for any military branch and only the second Black general to serve as Chairman to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Brown has brought invaluable expertise as the top military adviser to the President of the United States,” she said.
McClellan called Trump’s attempts to fire career officials and dismantle institutional expertise as “short-sighted.”
“Now more than ever, the United States should be taking every action to protect our national security and role as a global leader. This termination is antithetical to that need, jeopardizes our national security priorities, weakens our commitment to our global allies, and undermines our position as a leader in the ongoing effort to end several international conflicts.”
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Rebecca Barnabi
