President Trump has extended the federal hiring freeze that he initially put in place when he took office in January. This decision, outlined in a recent presidential memo, aims to ensure accountability and prioritize public safety in federal hiring practices.
The hiring freeze, which was first introduced as part of the administration’s efforts to streamline government operations, will now continue through October 15. Trump also previously extended the hiring freeze in April through July 15, 2025.
According to the White House, this measure is designed to reduce inefficiencies, curb unnecessary spending, and ensure that federal agencies are staffed with highly qualified individuals who are committed to serving the public effectively.
The hiring freeze includes exemptions for military personnel, national security, positions related to immigration enforcement, and the Executive Office of the President. Examples of these positions include Department of Veterans Affairs medical personnel, food safety inspectors, firefighters, air traffic controllers, and National Weather Service employees.
The memo also states that “nothing in this memorandum shall adversely impact the provision of Social Security, Medicare, or veterans’ healthcare or benefits.”
In a fact sheet released alongside the memo, the administration emphasized the importance of maintaining a lean and efficient federal workforce. It highlights several key points:
- The president’s memo “requires many federal hires to be approved by an agency’s presidentially appointed leadership, to end incompetence and ‘equity’ over results.”
- All hiring must align with the Merit Hiring Plan issued on May 29, 2025.
- Agencies must ensure hires reflect administration priorities and are not driven by bureaucracy.
Federal Workforce Downsizing Efforts
Since January, the Trump administration has implemented a series of measures aimed at reducing the size of the federal workforce. These include the Deferred Resignation Program, which offers extended severance and benefits to eligible employees, and the use of Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA) packages across multiple agencies.
The Department of Veterans Affairs also just announced it intends to reduce its staff by nearly 30,000 employees by the end of FY 2025.
Federal employee unions and advocacy groups have voiced concern over the pace and scope of these changes and have filed numerous lawsuits opposing the administration’s efforts.
For example, the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association (NARFE) wrote in a letter to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in February:
Unfortunately, the administration’s efforts to substantially reduce the size of the federal workforce rely on false assumptions regarding its size and growth. The reality is that the workforce has decreased in size by 2.8 percent since 1968, while the total labor force in the United States has increased by 140 percent, and the U.S. population has increased by about 77 percent. To the extent the workforce serving the federal government has grown, that growth originated from an increase in government contractors, which are nearly double the number of federal employees. In some cases, increasing the size of the federal workforce and reducing the number of contractors could reduce costs and increase efficiency, and result in true “rightsizing.”
According to new data released by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), these workforce downsizing efforts have resulted in a net reduction of more than 23,000 federal positions in the first quarter of the year. OPM’s acting director Charles Ezell said in a statement, “The American people deserve a government that is lean, efficient, and focused on core priorities. This data marks the first measurable step toward President Trump’s vision of a disciplined, accountable federal workforce and itʼs only the beginning.”
The effects have shown up in OPM’s retirement numbers as well which show an unusually high number of incoming retirement claims from federal employees in May and June.
These trends will presumably continue to show up in the federal government’s employment figures amid ongoing workforce reduction efforts. OPM for instance said in its announcement that it expects “hundreds of thousands” of federal employees to drop off of the rolls in October because of the deferred resignation program and reduction in force initiatives.
