President Donald Trump signed a memorandum this week that extended the federal government’s temporary pause on hiring employees.
The federal government can’t hire anyone new through July 15. This memorandum does not apply to military personnel or positions related to immigration enforcement.
On Trump’s first day in office, he signed an executive order (EO) that halted all federal government hiring. The EO said that it was done to make the federal government more efficient.
This memorandum states that all federal agency heads must utilize existing staff and funds to “improve public services and the delivery of those services.”
Additionally, it states that this hiring freeze will remain in place for the Internal Revenue Service until the Trump administration determines it is in the national interest to lift the freeze.
The EO said that the Trump administration has until May 20 to develop a federal workforce hiring plan that only includes “highly skilled Americans dedicated to the furtherance of American ideals, values, and interests.”
“American citizens deserve an excellent and efficient Federal workforce that attracts the highest caliber of civil servants committed to achieving the freedom, prosperity, and democratic rule that our Constitution promotes,” the EO says.
When the hiring freeze expires, federal agencies can “hire no more than one employee for every four employees that depart from federal service (with appropriate immigration, law enforcement, and public safety exceptions).”
Under the Biden administration, the federal government workforce grew by almost 6 percent.
During Trump’s short time in office, he has tried to shrink the size of the federal government.
CNN data shows that as of 121,361 workers have been fired from federal agencies.
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Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network. Email tips to Zachery at zschmidt1717@gmail.com. Follow Zachery on Twitter @zacheryschmidt2.
