'Meticulousness Matters'? Trump administration halts certain mass layoffs
A White House official indicates that there is currently a hesitance to dismiss veterans.
TroibNews 
Following a tumultuous initial wave of widespread layoffs, officials within the Trump administration have indicated a deliberate slowdown in the ongoing reductions at certain agencies, particularly as growing Republican criticism regarding the rapidity and extent of these actions has begun to surface.
This week, the administration discreetly postponed firings at both the Pentagon and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, reached an agreement with NASA to make job reductions for probationary employees “performance-based or voluntary,” and exempted military veterans from mass firings at the Department of the Interior. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth took to an eight-minute video on Thursday in an attempt to clarify the restructuring initiative.
“Their approach is different than last week. Precision is the priority right now,” noted one anonymous White House official who spoke candidly, adding there is an emerging sensitivity to the veteran community in decisions regarding layoffs.
“The objective has always been speed, but we cannot lose precision in our efforts,” the official remarked. “So in an effort to be more precise, agencies are not just double-checking, we’re triple-, quadruple-checking to make sure anyone who is being let go isn’t an essential part of the government.”
Another White House official shared with PMG: “There is a feedback mechanism, and we are fielding that feedback. Sometimes you break something valuable and you have to fix it. The question: Is there a point when there’s a deep whack that is catastrophic?”
Despite attempts to moderate the pace, firings continue to advance swiftly at other agencies, including the IRS this week. The Department of Defense announced on Friday afternoon it would lay off 5,400 civilian employees starting next week, as it aims to reduce 8 percent of its civilian workforce.
The pace of layoffs seems to have shifted from the early days of terminations initiated by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, when federal workers were dismissed with little regard for their agency’s operations and their veteran status, prompting urgent efforts to reinstate some employees deemed critical to national security.
DOGE, led by Elon Musk, has been at the forefront of these initiatives. However, the White House has pushed back against the idea that he operates independently, even as President Donald Trump has frequently recognized him for significantly reducing government size.
Given the uncertainty and clandestine nature of the firings, it’s plausible that the recent slowing in some sectors is just a temporary halt and that firings could accelerate again. For instance, the Pentagon had only briefly suspended its layoffs before the late Friday announcement sent shockwaves through Washington.
In a Tuesday interview with CNN, White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller avoided addressing whether the administration had fully evaluated the composition of the federal workforce, which includes a notable 30 percent of veterans.
He reiterated a familiar argument: “The American people are exhausted and tired of watching their tax dollars be corruptly spent, abused, wasted, and in every sense, robbed and stolen from them.”
However, the administration’s choice to decelerate firings in specific areas, especially where Republican lawmakers have expressed worries, points to a responsiveness to some political pressures.
“We are trimming the fat, we are not trimming the essential arteries of the federal government,” stated White House spokesperson Harrison Fields.
Frustration among Republican Party members is becoming increasingly vocal. During a town hall in Georgia, Rep. Rich McCormick encountered an upset crowd, with constituents expressing their discontent over extensive federal layoffs and budget cuts jeopardizing local jobs.
In Idaho, terminated employees protested on Monday against reductions to the U.S. Forest Service, an agency severely affected by DOGE-driven cuts.
Moreover, in Washington, Republican lawmakers have begun to present their constituents' concerns directly to the White House. Sen. Jerry Moran has alerted the administration that dismantling USAID will adversely impact farmers in his state who rely on government sales. Additionally, Rep. Mike Simpson, a senior House appropriator, raised alarms regarding how the hiring freeze is obstructing seasonal operations at national parks within his state.
“The hiring freeze has been a problem because now’s when we’re hiring seasonal employees for the parks — that’s a challenge,” Simpson conveyed to PMG in an interview.
The administration’s plans to downsize the federal workforce may encounter further obstacles in the legal system. Several lawsuits have been initiated challenging the legality of the mass firings. A ruling issued Thursday allowed the layoffs to proceed, but ongoing legal disputes could hinder additional reductions.
Dasha Burns and Christine Mui contributed to this report.
Aarav Patel contributed to this report for TROIB News
This week, the administration discreetly postponed firings at both the Pentagon and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, reached an agreement with NASA to make job reductions for probationary employees “performance-based or voluntary,” and exempted military veterans from mass firings at the Department of the Interior. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth took to an eight-minute video on Thursday in an attempt to clarify the restructuring initiative.
“Their approach is different than last week. Precision is the priority right now,” noted one anonymous White House official who spoke candidly, adding there is an emerging sensitivity to the veteran community in decisions regarding layoffs.
“The objective has always been speed, but we cannot lose precision in our efforts,” the official remarked. “So in an effort to be more precise, agencies are not just double-checking, we’re triple-, quadruple-checking to make sure anyone who is being let go isn’t an essential part of the government.”
Another White House official shared with PMG: “There is a feedback mechanism, and we are fielding that feedback. Sometimes you break something valuable and you have to fix it. The question: Is there a point when there’s a deep whack that is catastrophic?”
Despite attempts to moderate the pace, firings continue to advance swiftly at other agencies, including the IRS this week. The Department of Defense announced on Friday afternoon it would lay off 5,400 civilian employees starting next week, as it aims to reduce 8 percent of its civilian workforce.
The pace of layoffs seems to have shifted from the early days of terminations initiated by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, when federal workers were dismissed with little regard for their agency’s operations and their veteran status, prompting urgent efforts to reinstate some employees deemed critical to national security.
DOGE, led by Elon Musk, has been at the forefront of these initiatives. However, the White House has pushed back against the idea that he operates independently, even as President Donald Trump has frequently recognized him for significantly reducing government size.
Given the uncertainty and clandestine nature of the firings, it’s plausible that the recent slowing in some sectors is just a temporary halt and that firings could accelerate again. For instance, the Pentagon had only briefly suspended its layoffs before the late Friday announcement sent shockwaves through Washington.
In a Tuesday interview with CNN, White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller avoided addressing whether the administration had fully evaluated the composition of the federal workforce, which includes a notable 30 percent of veterans.
He reiterated a familiar argument: “The American people are exhausted and tired of watching their tax dollars be corruptly spent, abused, wasted, and in every sense, robbed and stolen from them.”
However, the administration’s choice to decelerate firings in specific areas, especially where Republican lawmakers have expressed worries, points to a responsiveness to some political pressures.
“We are trimming the fat, we are not trimming the essential arteries of the federal government,” stated White House spokesperson Harrison Fields.
Frustration among Republican Party members is becoming increasingly vocal. During a town hall in Georgia, Rep. Rich McCormick encountered an upset crowd, with constituents expressing their discontent over extensive federal layoffs and budget cuts jeopardizing local jobs.
In Idaho, terminated employees protested on Monday against reductions to the U.S. Forest Service, an agency severely affected by DOGE-driven cuts.
Moreover, in Washington, Republican lawmakers have begun to present their constituents' concerns directly to the White House. Sen. Jerry Moran has alerted the administration that dismantling USAID will adversely impact farmers in his state who rely on government sales. Additionally, Rep. Mike Simpson, a senior House appropriator, raised alarms regarding how the hiring freeze is obstructing seasonal operations at national parks within his state.
“The hiring freeze has been a problem because now’s when we’re hiring seasonal employees for the parks — that’s a challenge,” Simpson conveyed to PMG in an interview.
The administration’s plans to downsize the federal workforce may encounter further obstacles in the legal system. Several lawsuits have been initiated challenging the legality of the mass firings. A ruling issued Thursday allowed the layoffs to proceed, but ongoing legal disputes could hinder additional reductions.
Dasha Burns and Christine Mui contributed to this report.
Aarav Patel contributed to this report for TROIB News
