Massive government job cuts by the Trump administration continued Tuesday as the Pentagon said 50 000-60 000 civilian jobs will be slashed. That’s a five per cent – eight per cent defense workforce reduction.
But since courts have halted many government firings, the Pentagon will turn to voluntary workforce reductions to eliminate the jobs.
ABC News quoted a senior defense official as saying, “The number sounds high, but I would focus on the percentage, a five per cent to eight per cent reduction is not a drastic one.”
The official added Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth “is confident [that] can be done without negatively impacting readiness.”
The Pentagon will use a combination of firings, resignations and a hiring freeze while attempting to incentivise employees to leave.
Some 5 400 probationary employees will be fired.
So far, 21 000 civilian employees have resigned, and they will be paid through September 30.
Without a freeze in place, the Pentagon normally hires 6 000 people a month so that attrition will add to the numbers of jobs cut.
According to the Just Security tracker, as of Wednesday 129 lawsuits have been filed against Trump administration actions, alleging they are illegal. Dozens of cases are about the mass firings.
While judges have stopped some of the layoffs while the suits are heard in court, not all of the dismissals have been stopped.
Tuesday US District Judge Theodore Chuang ruled Elon Musk and DOGE attempts to shut down USAID “likely violated the US Constitution in multiple ways.”
Chuang ordered DOGE to reinstate USAID employee and contractors’ access to email, payment and other electronic systems.
On March 13 Judge William Alsup ordered the Trump administration to reinstate tens of thousands of illegally fired federal workers in six agencies.
On Monday US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit lost an appeal seeking to overturn Alsup’s ruling.
Twenty state attorneys general sued the Trump administration March 7 alleging the mass firings are illegal and causing nationwide chaos in government.
The suit also asserted that the firings are putting burdens on states, including more unemployment claims, a decrease in tax revenue and an increased need for social services.
On February 27 Alsup, in a case brought by the American Federation of Government Employees, ordered the Trump administration to rescind a memo from the Office of Personnel Management that directed agencies to determine whether employees should be fired. (UPI)
