The UK Independent ran the story under the headline, “
Trump signs order handing Musk and DOGE more power to slash federal workforce.” The sub-headline added, “The new executive order forbids agencies from hiring more than one new worker for every four who leave government service.” But that was just the start.
Leading off Musk’s status report, President Trump signed a new executive order titled, “
Implementing The President's ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ Workforce Optimization Initiative.” Effective immediately, it required all federal agencies to cooperate with DOGE and its cost-cutting operations. It ordered agencies to “coordinate and consult with DOGE to shrink the size of the federal workforce and limit hiring to essential positions.”
It also ordered the Office of Personnel Management to publish new rules governing federal worker conduct. Now, federal workers will be required to (a) be citizens, (b) timely file their tax returns, (c) comply with non-disclosure requirements (i.e. stop leaking), and (d) not engage in “theft or misuse of Government resources and equipment, or negligent loss of Government resources and equipment.”
Boom again!
Federal agencies were told to plan for “large-scale reductions in force,” by reporting on what functions could be eliminated or combined. The downsizing requirements excluded “national security, public safety, law enforcement, and immigration enforcement.”
In short, Trump put more jet fuel in DOGE’s cutting engine, and short-circuited a whole bunch of court orders by offloading some of the work from DOGE to the agencies themselves.
But more importantly, it is another avenue of attack against the deep state. Leaking, and intentional or even negligent waste, are now terminable offenses. Any bureaucrat resisting DOGE’s work will now breaking a direct executive order.
The new conduct rules target the exact class of people who abuse the system the most— the “Resisters.” The courts may have stalled President Trump’s firing orders, but he just sidestepped them, and built in large-scale reductions in force, by requiring four employees to be laid off by the agencies for every new hire.
Without waiting for any possible Congressional budget cuts, the agencies must start shrinking immediately. Good luck enjoining that.
In just the last 24 hours, Trump has deployed the threat of a historic, Swamp-draining reconciliation bill, forced deep-state classified disclosures, devastating counter-leaks, public-official grifting investigations, and a new Executive Order requiring massive downsizing and making Resistance a terminable offense.
It was a whole-of-government, belt-and-suspenders strategy. It has created a Deep State doom loop.
You are probably tired of hearing this, but we are truly living in unprecedented times. We’ve
never seen anything like this. We are witnessing the first real, systematic dismantling of the Administrative State in American history. It is the biggest battle over the federal government’s power since the Civil War, maybe ever.
I
told you Trump could see the activist court resistance coming a mile off. I
told you there was a strategy. I didn’t think it would happen this fast.
How much do
you like it?
Yesterday was a terrible, no-good, very bad day for the Swamp. Trump struck back in a coordinated assault on all fronts. He's not waiting for the courts to do the right thing—nor is he defying them.
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