On Wednesday, the White House ordered a plan to reduce and streamline the federal government, replacing the hiring freeze. President Trump placed his Office of Management and Budget in charge of this directive, a 14-page plan to federal agencies with President Trump’s aim to hire in high-priority areas, cutting back in others. All agencies have until June 30, 2017 to develop a draft plan to “maximize performance of government workers.”
Mick Mulvaney, Director of the Office of Management and Budget stated that: “The Hiring Freeze was a way to stop everything while the new management team came in.”
Trump’s directive states that the final plans and “input from the American people and each agency” will be part of the Trump fiscal 2019 fiscal budget. After the hiring freeze, it was stated that some folks will be allowed to hire back, but in others strategic and surgical reductions will be implemented. Mulvaney stated that President Trump’s first budget proposal targeted the EPA for significant cuts to their workforce. There are other agencies that President Trump was to spend more on, specifically the Department of Veterans Affairs with a budget blueprint for a 6% increase in VA funding. This increase will cover the rising health costs to treat veterans. Mulvaney acknowledged that many changes will require congressional sign-off. Sources: Fox News Politics and Associated Press