Under the leadership of Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, who previously pursued the GOP nomination for President, the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which was instituted by Donald Trump in order to cut hard costs for the federal government, undertook enormous ambitions that could affect millions of federal workers. One of the key items on their list of priorities? Wiping entire units of the government off the face of the earth.
Ramaswamy said on Fox News, “We will anticipate some agencies to outright cease to exist.” This audacious assertion leaves one wondering what sectors will be trimmed and the consequences of such actions on the federal workforce of over 2 million individuals.
Which agencies employ the most federal workers?
In fact, the U.S. government is the topmost employer in the country and has numerous employees in different departments. For instance, according to the statistics from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, the eight cabinet-level agencies had over 100,000 civilian employees in March.
Specifically the Veterans Affair department is one of the largest employers with almost five hundred thousands employees while the department of education has over 4000 employees. About 100,000 of these include individuals who work in the Treasury’s Department primarily for the Internal Revenue Service.
Most of the federal departments provide average salaries in six figures with the Departments of Education and Energy having the most. These figures also illustrate why employment in the federal government has a financial burden and why it is liable to cuts.
Mass reductions in force” on the horizon
Ramaswamy’s latest comments suggest that there might be some radical transformations in the future. He also said this in an interview with Fox News: “We are anticipating mass layoffs in sections of the federal government which are overly staffed.” While there have been no official mentions of specific agencies, Trump’s prior remarks may imply that the Education Department could be closed.
In the year 2023, Trump publicly announced his plans to abolish the Education Department and revert its duties back to the states. This also resonates with the overall theme of his campaign that seeks to reduce federal control and enhance states’ rights.
Severance and you transition plans
Musk has spoken about the casualties that may arise from the aforementioned layoffs, stressing however his desire to cushion the affected employees. In an address last October, he suggested providing for “very long severances,” which could go for as much as two years.
“The intention is not to be heartless or to force people unable to meet their mortgage payments or anything of that sort,” Musk said. “We simply have way too many people in the government, most of whom would be more valuable working in other sectors.”
Even though there are already broken factors within the federal system that reward severance compensation, the least offered standard to workers upon termination could be even more radical than megabucks.
Challenges in implementing sweeping cuts
Although the commission has set enthusiastic targets, DOGE is not any of the government’s arms. Its role is consultative, that is major reshuffles would involve thinking by both Trump and the Congress.
In the past, such commissions, like the Grace Commission which was instituted by Ronald Reagan, have faced difficulties turning suggestions into practice. Also, there are unsustainable programs, for instance, Social Security and Medicare that spent the majority of the quasi 6.75 trillion dollars budgeted for the 2024 fiscal year and are set to remain without changes as it will require the legislative process.
What’s next for DOGE?
While Musk and Ramaswamy work on their ideas for government efficiency, there are still unanswered questions. Will Congress accept their suggestions? How will displaced workers be resettled? And who will be the last agencies to be cut?
At present DOGE seems to be a bold policy of altering the size and structure of the federal workforce and the budget with possible repercussions for many Americans.
