The Trump administration could potentially fire probationary employees after directing defense agencies to turn over a list of workers by Tuesday as the White House continues to reshape and downsize the scope of the federal government.
The Washington Post reported that many of the probationary employees won’t be exempted from plans to reduce the headcount, citing five people familiar with the matter. The list of probationary employees was asked for after members of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, arrived.
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Fox News Digital has reached out to the Pentagon, White House and Office of Personnel Management (OPM).
The Pentagon has around 950,000 civilian employees, and probationary employment generally lasts for one year but can extend to two or three years in some positions, the news report states.
The agency also serves around 1.3 million active-duty military service members, as well as nearly 800,000 more who are in the National Guard and Reserve.
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However, the Trump administration has exempted military personnel from sweeping budget cuts.
The potential firings come as DOGE has overseen sweeping reductions in spending and personnel in other parts of the federal government, most recently dismantling the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
DOGE is led by Elon Musk, who may have several conflicts of interest in budgeting matters regarding the Pentagon. His companies have received billions of dollars in government contracts, including at the Defense Department.
Musk has led the charge to have DOGE aggressively slash wasteful spending under Trump. However, the cost-cutting group has faced scrutiny from Democrats over its access to federal systems, including the Treasury Department’s payment system, as well as moves to cancel federal contracts and make cuts at various agencies.
“This is a promise President Trump campaigned on. He is now delivering on it,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told “Hannity” on Monday.
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