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The Defense Department has announced plans to reduce 5-8% of its civilian workforce to “produce efficiencies and refocus the department on the president's priorities and restoring readiness” in the force.
“We expect approximately 5,400 probationary workers will be released beginning next week as part of this initial effort, after which we will implement a hiring freeze while we conduct a further analysis of our personnel needs, complying as always with all applicable laws,” Darin Selnick, the acting under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness, said in a statement Friday.
There were 764,000 civilians employed by the Defense Department as of June 2024, according to the Office of Personnel Management.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth met with Department of Government Efficiency staff Thursday, he disclosed in a video address.
Hegseth asserted DOD would be “incorporating” into its efforts to increase efficiency “everything [DOGE] is doing to find fraud, waste and abuse in the largest discretionary budget” in the federal government.
"With DOGE, we are focusing as much as we can on headquarters and fat and topline stuff that allows us to reinvest elsewhere," Hegseth added.
The defense secretary added that DOGE would have “broad access” to department systems — with proper safeguards on classifications — to identify redundancies and refocus on President Donald Trump’s priorities.
“We believe in the goals of the program, and our leaders are carrying out that review carefully and smartly,” Selnick said in his statement.
The personnel reduction comes two days after Robert G. Salesses, the acting deputy defense secretary, announced that Hegseth had directed a review to identify cuts from the Biden administration’s planned fiscal 2026 budget request.
“The Department will develop a list of potential offsets that could be used to fund these priorities, as well as to refocus the Department on its core mission of deterring and winning wars. The offsets are targeted at 8% of the Biden Administration's FY26 budget, totaling around $50 billion, which will then be spent on programs aligned with President Trump's priorities,” Salesses asserted in the release.
When asked about the planned 8% budget cuts Monday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune told CNN, “Well, I’m not sure exactly what that was getting at, if that was the entire Pentagon budget or certain aspects of it. We have to get more detail about it, but we’re going to try and increase the topline.”
Hegseth did include 17 exempted priorities, including southwest border activities, core readiness and munitions, according to NPR.
But in response to an unsigned email issued by the White House’s Office of Personnel Management on Saturday, the Pentagon instructed defense employees not to respond to a request that they list their “accomplishments” last week.
— By Jennifer Hickey
