DeKalb GA News

The Trump Administration has taken significant steps to reduce the federal workforce, announcing the termination of more than 400 employees from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Friday evening. This move is part of a broader government-wide initiative aimed at reducing personnel numbers across various agencies.

Officials within DHS stated that the decision affected hundreds of employees identified as "non-mission critical personnel in probationary status." These cuts impacted several DHS agencies, including the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin commented on the layoffs, stating: “Under President Trump’s leadership, we are making sweeping cuts and reform across the federal government to eliminate egregious waste and incompetence that has been happening for decades at the expense of the American taxpayer.” She also noted that these personnel reductions would result in approximately $50 million in savings and contribute significantly to efforts aimed at cutting bureaucratic inefficiencies. The department is reportedly continuing to identify other positions deemed unnecessary for fulfilling its mission.

This development follows an earlier announcement on Friday when over 200,000 probationary employees were terminated across various government agencies. According to data from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), about 220,000 federal workers had not completed their probationary period as of March 2024.

Trump administration officials have described these layoffs as sweeping "Reductions in Force," with plans set to commence shortly after a Thursday deadline set by OPM for workers to accept resignation packages.