Trump administration rehires federal employees laid off by DOGE
14 hours ago
- #Government Efficiency
- #Cost-Cutting
- #Federal Employees
- Hundreds of federal employees laid off by DOGE are being rehired by the Trump administration.
- The General Services Administration (GSA) has given employees until the end of the week to accept or decline reinstatement.
- Employees who accept must report for duty on Oct. 6 after a seven-month paid vacation.
- The GSA has been in 'triage mode' due to being understaffed and unable to carry out basic functions.
- Other agencies like the IRS, Labor Department, and National Park Service have also reinstated purged employees.
- DOGE's aggressive cost-cutting led to thousands of GSA employees leaving, with some continuing to get paid despite not working.
- Democrats criticize the Trump administration's approach, stating it created costly confusion without delivering savings.
- DOGE initially aimed to cancel nearly half of the 7,500 federal leases and sell hundreds of buildings to save billions.
- Pushback led to over 480 leases being spared, and estimated savings were reduced from $460 million to $140 million.
- GSA's headquarters staff was cut by 79%, portfolio managers by 65%, and facilities managers by 35%.
- 131 leases expired without the government vacating, exposing agencies to steep fees.
- The Government Accountability Office is investigating GSA's management and will issue findings soon.