President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday to formally launch the Department of Government Efficiency's effort to streamline the government, according to a White House Fact Sheet. The initiative will focus on scaling back the federal workforce.
One of Trump's many campaign promises was to slash government waste and root out corruption. He brought in Tesla billionaire Elon Musk to help with the task, a fact which has the left apoplectic.
Reuters reported that Musk and his son, "Lil X," joined Trump in the Oval Office to sign the executive orders. An account for the America PAC run by Musk shared a photo of the occasion to X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday.
BREAKING: President Donald Trump is joined by Elon Musk and his son, ‘Lil X’, in the Oval Office as he signs an Executive Order requiring federal agencies to collaborate with @DOGE. pic.twitter.com/47FtsL5siZ
— America (@america) February 11, 2025
The order promised to make the "federal workforce more efficient and effective" through DOGE. The main priority is slashing the number of people working in the government.
"There are too many federal employees," the fact sheet for the order asserts. It noted that there are some 2.4 million workers spread over at least 400 agencies in the Federal Register.
"In fiscal year 2022, the federal government spent nearly $300 billion on compensation for civilian employees, excluding pensions.
According to a recent congressional report, only 6% of federal workers report to work in-person on a full-time basis," the document went on.
The order includes a roadmap to future hiring after the cuts so they will be more difficult to roll back. "Agency Heads will coordinate and consult with DOGE to shrink the size of the federal workforce and limit hiring to essential positions," it stated.
The order also promised to limit hiring to "no more than one employee for every four employees that depart from federal service." However, that rule included exemptions for law enforcement, public safety, and immigration.
Besides the dollars and cents of it, Trump's executive order also includes employee accountability. "The Office of Personnel Management will initiate a rulemaking to ensure federal employees are held to the highest standards of conduct," the order noted.
The order is "building on past success" that Trump believes will make America great again. "President Trump has made reforming the federal workforce a key priority for his second term," the fact sheet stated.
"President Trump has consistently worked to shrink the administrative state. His first term spurred robust economic growth and innovation through regulatory reform. Workforce reform in his second term will build on these successes," it added.
When fielding questions from the press about this initiative, Trump said that he "couldn't ask for a stronger mandate from ... the public" in terms of his electoral victory. "The people voted for major government reform. There should be no doubt about that," Trump added, according to Reuters.
Trump is proceeding full steam ahead on fulfilling the promises he made during the campaign. With the help of Musk, Trump will cut the fat from the government and leave the swamp-dwellers scurrying for the exits.
