Washington President Donald Trump is testing the limits of his authority to change the scope, function, and nonpartisan nature of government without Congress, and less than two weeks into his term, he is waging war against his own government, instilling a deep sense of fear in federal employees and recipients of federal aid.
primarily utilizing the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel Management, two obscure organizations Trump has made it easier to dismiss tens of thousands of federal employees, tried to cut off money for a wide range of domestic and overseas assistance programs, and started a campaign to pressure more to leave their positions.
The underlying executive order is still in effect, and the federal employees in charge of implementing it are left to choose between orders from the president and the courts. Trump revoked an OMB memo this week in response to public outcry, and two federal judges have blocked the domestic spending freeze.
Over the past two weeks, almost two dozen federal employees told NBC News about a culture of dread, bewilderment, distrust, and rage inside federal institutions. Before Trump’s comeback to power, several public servants spoke of feeling actively observed and scrutinized in a way that was unfamiliar.
Trump is implementing traditional Republican ideas on how to reduce and reorganize the federal footprint at a time when, according to Gallup polling, the vast majority of Americans say they do not trust that Washington will act morally always or most of the time. However, detractors claim that bringing an ideological sledgehammer to the government will reduce its efficacy, efficiency, and ability to withstand partisan influence.
After Trump issued an order freezing funding for international aid programs, nearly 60 employees of the U.S. Agency for International Development were placed on administrative leave. His aides are currently engaged in discussions about unilaterally folding the agency into the State Department, a move that critics claim cannot be carried out without a law from Congress. On Saturday, the agency’s website went down.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., stated that the organizing principle of their actions is that Trump aspires to be king. The American people are suffering because he refuses to answer to the law.
Trump’s actions may make it more difficult for the president to garner enough support to prevent a government shutdown in six weeks, Van Hollen continued.
He said that it raises the question of whether we can move forward with a spending legislation in good faith. We engage in these discussions in the hopes of reaching a compromise, but the president selectively chooses what he wants and ignores the rest.
Members of Congress who support Trump, such as Sen. Jim Banks, a freshman from Indiana, claim the president is only keeping his campaign pledges.
“President Trump’s pledge to eliminate government waste and restore common sense to the White House was a major factor in the American people’s overwhelming vote for him,” Banks told NBC News. I applaud his administration’s efforts to make sure every tax dollar is used properly on the agenda he pledged, even if the nation has a $36 trillion debt.
All of this amounts to a high-stakes wager that the public would reward Trump and Republicans for their slash-and-burn strategy for reshaping the federal government, even if it means taking funds away from voters or state and local government operations that they depend on. Trump, who is constitutionally ineligible to seek reelection, is the least risky candidate, according to the president’s supporters.
According to a Republican operative, the strategy has been outstanding thus far.
However, the agent stated that they were somewhat alarmed by the firing of the top six FBI officials on Friday, implying that this could provide more external than internal challenges for Trump and his administration.
According to this individual, [Trump] really shouldn’t give a damn about the blowback. It will ultimately be up to [Vice President] JD [Vance] [and] existing incumbents to justify the acts of this administration if there is blowback in the future. He is not running again, and reducing the size of the federal workforce is part of his mission.
Trump isn’t always waiting for attrition. He dismissed FBI leaders and up to two dozen Justice Department prosecutors who worked on cases involving suspects from the Jan. 6 attack on Congress and the Capitol siege. Trump commuted the sentences of others and pardoned the majority of those found guilty of offenses relating to January 6.
Federal employees have been warned that there could be negative repercussions.Trump blamed DEI hiring at the Federal Aviation Administration for a deadly mid-air collision between a commercial regional flight and a military helicopter, claiming common sense rather than supporting data, and failing to report on colleagues whose work touches on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
According to some government employees who talked to NBC News, the president’s comments and actions amount to a concerted campaign to frighten and demoralize the workforce.
Trump has given billionaire Elon Musk, the Department of Government Efficiency’s volunteer leader, and his associates the authority to offer buyouts that would compensate federal public servants until September in return for their resignations. At OPM’s request, agency personnel chiefs and OPM itself have been in contact with workers almost every day with the deferred resignation option.
Employees of the Environmental Protection Agency were informed via email on Wednesday that if they have been with the agency for less than a year, they could be fired at any time.
“You wouldn’t be using psychological warfare against federal employees every day if you want government to work,” a former federal management stated. You want them to arrive inspired. This is not how it should be done.
A series of queries from NBC News were not answered by Noah Peters, a senior adviser at OPM who was the only person copied by name on an email sent to agency HR directors regarding the deferred resignation program.
According to a USAID official, the new OPM email system, which appears to enable the federal agency to communicate directly with all federal employees, drew out colleagues.
According to this individual, all OPM communications used to pass straight through the agency before being distributed by the agencies. Since that has never happened before, many people are somewhat alarmed by it. It makes me wonder whether you’re attempting to manipulate me. Are you attempting to keep an eye on my access? What do you want to accomplish?
This individual went on to say that although they believed that the federal government needed to modernize, trying to impose significant disruptions and changes too quickly would not benefit the civil service.
According to this individual, change takes time. If this was done well, there might be benefits. And that would be welcomed by many. However, this is merely inciting dread. It’s just [being] intimidating, nothing more. It doesn’t operate that way. That’s how it works if you’re Elon Musk, after all. However, it is not how government operates.
One civil worker at the U.S. Forestry Service claimed that when they raised concerns and queries about the shifting directions, a higher-up urged them to just keep a low profile.
According to the Forestry Service employee, if [they] were in my position, the best course of action would be for me to keep my head down, lay low, and simply carry out my duties. which, while somewhat understandable, isn’t a very good response.
Republicans argued that Trump’s actions posed minimal danger because the president does not have to run for office again and would not be directly affected by any potential backlash from voters, and government officials are viewed as being insensitive to the needs of the general public.
As one ally of Trump put it, “I think his goal is exactly what he said it is to drain the swamp.” The professional bureaucrats who work there literally keep their house tidy. The risk, in my opinion, is really minimal.
According to this person, any outage will affect people’s direct payments, which are primarily automated. Furthermore, I doubt that many people will notice if we cut back on spending, which is really a waste of transfer payments.
Trump’s attempt to reorganize the federal workforce, according to Rep. Riley Moore, R-W.Va., is about bringing it into direct alignment with his and his movement’s worldview.
According to Moore, President Trump wants to optimize effectiveness and results for American taxpayers and the tax dollars they spend to fund security and other necessities for our society. In order to refocus these departments and agencies toward an America First ideology, the president is also working to revise their mission statements and guiding principles.
However, Neera Tanden, a former domestic policy adviser to President Joe Biden, stated that there is conflict between the voters who sent Trump to the top in November and the anti-government activists in his inner circle. That was reflected in the backlash he got from the OMB memo, which was interpreted by many civil servants, lawmakers and recipients of federal aid to require a pause in funding grants for everything from local fire departments and police programs to community health centers.
According to Tanden, their coalition’s main obstacle is the direct confrontation between its rich libertarians and working-class members. I don t think all those white working-class and Latino working-class people who voted for him are like, You know what? I’d really like to stop receiving medical care.
Whether Trump can hobble the federal workforce and cut trillions of dollars from the budget without harming his own voters and the Republicans who represent them in Congress remains to be seen.
Kush Desai, a White House spokesperson, told NBC News that Trump will be able to do just that.
President Trump received a resounding mandate to streamline our gargantuan government to better serve the needs of the American people, Desai said. He will use every lever of executive and legislative power to deliver.