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    • Musk and Ramaswamy launch ‘large-scale layoffs’ for federal staff
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    Musk and Ramaswamy launch ‘large-scale layoffs’ for federal staff

    Umito Posted on

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    WASHINGTON – Tech Entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy presented a plan on Wednesday to President-elect Donald Trump to oversee a massive reduction in the federal workforce, arguing that the employees will no longer be needed after Trump eliminates “thousands of regulations” in his next administration.

    Musk and Ramaswamy, whom Trump nominated last week co-leaders of a new Ministry of Government Effectivenessdistinguished in a Wall Street Journal editorial federal employees “who consider themselves immune from dismissal thanks to civil service protections.”

    The duo pointed to recent Supreme Court rulings to argue that the new president has the executive authority to roll back numerous regulations, carry out “large-scale layoffs” of federal workers and relocate some agencies outside of Washington .

    The new Trump administration is expected to revive a plan to convert some employees to “Schedule F” status, which strips them of job protections, among other efforts to reduce the workforce.

    Musk and Ramaswamy, two staunch Trump allies, were tapped to lead efforts to “dismantle government bureaucracy, reduce excessive regulations, cut wasteful spending and restructure federal agencies.” Although characterized as a department, the Musk/Ramaswamy-led effort is actually an external advisory commission – not a formal agency – with no legal authority.

    “DOGE intends to work with agency appointees to identify the minimum number of employees required in an agency for it to carry out its constitutionally authorized and statutorily mandated functions,” its editorial read.

    Musk and Ramaswamy said the number of federal employees to be cut “should be at least proportional” to the number of regulations removed. “Not only would fewer employees be required to enforce fewer regulations, but the agency would produce fewer regulations once its scope of authority was properly limited,” they said.

    They did not say how many workers could be laid off, or which agencies would be targeted if their plan were carried out. They stated that “employees whose positions are eliminated deserve to be treated with respect, and DOGE’s goal is to help support their transition to the private sector,” without providing details on how such transition would take place.

    More: Trump taps Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead new ‘Department of Government Effectiveness’

    Trump could use existing laws to incentivize federal workers to retire early and provide voluntary severance packages “to facilitate a smooth exit,” they added.

    Musk, the world’s richest man, has quickly become a leading voice in Trump’s orbit. The president-elect joined Musk in Brownsville, Texas, on Tuesday for the launch of Musk’s SpaceX spacecraft.

    In the WSJ op-ed, Musk and Ramaswamy cited the 2022 Supreme Court decisions West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency and 2024 Loper Bright v. Raimondo to argue that “a plethora of current federal regulations exceed the authority Congress has granted under the law.”

    Their group plans to install legal experts inside federal agencies to review regulations before presenting a list of rules that Trump could consider stopping through executive action, launching a review and rescission process.

    Musk and Ramaswamy acknowledged that “conventional wisdom” might suggest that civil service protections prevent the president from firing federal workers. But they argued that Trump has sweeping power — under the Collins v. Yellen Supreme Court 2021 – to pursue “workforce reductions” that do not target specific employees.

    They also raised the possibility of requiring these workers to return to in-person work five days a week, predicting that this would “result in a wave of voluntary departures that we welcome.”

    “If federal employees are unwilling to show up, American taxpayers should not pay them for the privilege of staying home in the Covid era,” they said.

    Democrats and other Trump opponents have criticized the DOGE pledge, arguing that Trump and his allies aim to end government protections in a host of critical areas, from education to the environment to social programs . They also criticized Trump for recruiting two people to fill the position of one, although Musk and Ramaswamy said they would not accept a salary for their positions.

    “We are entrepreneurs, not politicians. We will act as outside volunteers, not as federal officials or employees. Unlike government commissions or advisory committees, we will not simply write reports or cut corners. ribbons. We will reduce costs.”

    Contributor: Reuters

    Contact Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.

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