Trump orders more layoffs, Musk touts cuts at cabinet meeting

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration on Wednesday ordered federal agencies to undertake more large-scale layoffs of workers, while the president let Elon Musk take a star role at his first cabinet meeting and discuss his ambitious budget-cutting targets.

A new memo instructed agencies to submit plans by March 13 for a "significant reduction" in staffing to a federal workforce already reeling from waves of layoffs and program cuts by Musk's so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). It did not specify the number of new layoffs.

The memo represents a major escalation in Trump and Musk's campaign to slash the size of the U.S. government.

Thus far, the layoffs have focused on probationary workers, who have less tenure in their current roles and enjoy fewer job protections. The next round would target the vastly bigger pool of veteran civil servants.

At the cabinet meeting, Trump said Lee Zeldin, the Environmental Protection Agency administrator, plans to cut up to 65 percent of his more than 15,000 employees.

On Tuesday, an Interior Department source told Reuters that bureaus such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Bureau of Indian Affairs have been ordered to prepare for workforce reductions as high as 40 percent.

Some 100,000 of the nation's 2.3 million civilian federal workers have been fired or taken buyouts.

Trump offered Musk an extraordinary sign of support by inviting the billionaire to tout his work to the presidential cabinet, some of whom had pushed back on his recent demand that all of their employees justify their work or face termination.

Musk is not a cabinet-level official and did not require U.S. Senate approval. While Trump has claimed that Musk is in charge of DOGE and his aides staff the organization, the White House has stated in court filings that Musk does not hold authority over DOGE.

As cabinet secretaries looked on, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO expressed confidence he can cut the $6.7 trillion budget by $1 trillion this year. 

Trump made it clear he backed Musk's effort. Later on Wednesday, Trump signed an executive order directing agencies to work with DOGE to review and terminate all "unnecessary" contracts and instructing the General Services Administration, which manages the government's real estate, to create a plan for disposing of any unneeded property.

Thus far, Trump and Musk have failed to slow the rate of spending. According to a Reuters analysis, the government spent 13 percent more during Trump's first month in office than during the same time last year, largely due to higher interest payments on the debt and rising health and retirement costs incurred by an aging population.

Trump reiterated his promise to refrain from cutting popular health and retirement benefits, which account for nearly half of the budget.

"We're not going to touch it," said Trump.

Trump is simultaneously pushing Congress to extend his 2017 tax cuts, set to expire at the end of 2025. The nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates the 2017 cuts added $2.5 trillion to the nation's debt – now $36 trillion – and that extending the tax cuts could cost more than $5 trillion over a decade.

Republicans are weighing cuts to healthcare and food aid for the poor to help pay for the tax cuts, though specifics have not yet emerged.

Over the weekend, many federal workers were taken by surprise when they received an email requiring them to list their accomplishments for the week, a demand Musk said would result in termination if ignored. Musk told the cabinet his email was an attempt to find out whether government paychecks were going to actual workers.

Trump suggested the roughly one million workers who did not respond to Musk's email might be at risk of losing their jobs.

(With input from Reuters)