President Trump on Thursday signed a memorandum extending a freeze on hiring federal civilian employees into mid-July as his administration looks to slash the size and scope of the government.
The memorandum states that no civilian government role that is currently vacant will be filled, and no new positions will be created unless stipulated by the administration.
The freeze does not apply to military personnel or positions related to immigration enforcement, national security or the office of the president.
Trump signed a hiring freeze on Inauguration Day as part of a pledge to reduce the size of the government and to gain control over what allies saw as a bureaucrat-heavy workforce that was potentially not fully aligned with his agenda.
In the months since, various government agencies have moved to fire thousands of employees, including at the Department of Education, the Department of State, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Those cuts have raised questions about the quality of government services moving forward and have spurred outrage from critics toward Elon Musk, who is leading the Department of Government Efficiency and its efforts to slash the size of the government and reduce spending.
Trump has said it will ultimately be up to Cabinet secretaries to determine who to fire.
Source: The Hill
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