On February 11, President Trump issued an executive order requiring federal agencies to collaborate with DOGE to implement large-scale reductions and to curb future hiring. The multi-faceted order — which will not apply to military personnel or jobs related to public safety, immigration enforcement, law enforcement, or national security — formally kicked off what the Trump administration deemed “a critical transformation of the Federal bureaucracy,” which aims to eliminate “waste, bloat, and insularity” in the federal government.

The order will have the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to submit a plan to reduce the size of the federal government’s workforce. Chiefly, the plan created a hiring ratio in which each federal agency must hire no more than one employee for every four employees that leave the agency. Moreover, each agency head will be directed to work with DOGE personnel to develop a “data-driven plan” to ensure new career appointment hires are in the “highest-need areas.” DOGE must also submit monthly reports detailing the agency’s hiring figures.

The executive order also required agency heads to initiate large-scale reductions in force (RIFs).  The RIFs focused on job functions “not mandated by statute or other law,” including: (i) agency diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives; (ii) agency initiatives and operations that the Trump administration suspends or closes; and (iii) employees performing duties not mandated by statute or not “essential.”

Within 30 days of the order, the Director of the Office of Personnel Management must initiate a rulemaking that proposes additional requirements regarding if a person would be unsuitable for federal employment. The new requirements will be: (i) failure to comply with certain legal obligations, including timely filing of tax returns; (ii) failure to meet citizenship requirements; (iii) refusal to certify compliance with non-disclosure obligations; and (iv) theft and misuse of government resources and equipment.