Exemptions to Trump's broad federal staff hiring freeze start to emerge
The Trump administration's government-wide hiring freeze, instituted shortly after the President's inauguration, has been causing ripples across various departments. While some positions are affected, others have been exempted, allowing hiring to continue for approximately 750,000 roles in the Defense Department.
The Defense Department, in a move to support essential operations, is exempting all of its civilian positions from the freeze. This exemption is a significant relief for the department, as it manages a vast workforce of around 750,000 civilians.
However, not all agencies are exempt. The Internal Revenue Service, for instance, will face a longer hiring freeze, per Trump's order. The Homeland Security Department, too, has not commented on whether they will exempt their entire workforce.
Exemptions from the hiring freeze must be approved in writing by Amanda Scales, the new chief of staff at the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). The OPM has informed agency heads they can exempt any position tied to "essential activities" that protect life and property.
The Veterans Affairs Department is poised to exempt employees at the Veterans Benefits Administration from the hiring freeze. Similarly, the administration will allow incoming employees with job offers prior to Jan. 20 to onboard if their start date was scheduled for on or before Feb. 8.
Agencies that do not qualify for exemptions have been asked to take down job postings and cease correspondence with prospective applicants. Anyone whose start date was slated for after Feb. 8 will have their offer rescinded.
The Trump administration's exceptions to the hiring freeze law exempt agencies and sectors related to national security, including the Department of Defense, the Intelligence Community, and homeland security-related departments. The language of the order also suggests Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection may be exempt to carry out immigration and border security crackdown.
Doug Collins, Trump's pick to lead VA, may freeze hiring for some health care staff. The order may also lead to layoffs of employees working in diversity offices and the compiling of all recent hires who are still in their probationary periods.
The Trump administration's hiring freeze is set to expire after 90 days, but agencies will first have to submit plans to permanently reduce their rolls through efficiencies and attrition. The administration's recent shutdown plans required about 66% of federal employees to stay on the job during a funding lapse.
The order is likely to have significant impacts on agencies and potentially pronounced fallout to their missions. Some agencies took years to recover from the backlog of vacancies caused by a previous hiring freeze.
Scales, who previously worked at Elon Musk's xAI, is overseeing the implementation of the hiring freeze. The order's implications are far-reaching, affecting not just the hiring process but also the overall functioning of various government departments.
Lauren Williams contributed to this report.
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