Presidential Transition

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that requires the executive branch to work in cooperation with DOGE in its efforts to purge the government of waste. The order is called “Implementing the president’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ workforce optimization initiative.

Of note is the section on “Reduction of Force,” which states “Agency Heads shall promptly undertake preparations to initiate large-scale reductions in force (RIFs), consistent with applicable law, and to separate from Federal service temporary employees and reemployed annuitants working in areas that will likely be subject to the RIFs.  All offices that perform functions not mandated by statute or other law shall be prioritized in the RIFs, including all agency diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives…”

Trump supercharges DOGE with new executive order, sets stage for ‘large-scale’ layoffs– www.theblaze.com
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President Donald Trump signed an
executive order Tuesday setting the stage for “large-scale” layoffs and requiring federal agencies to further aid the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency with the governmental streamlining process, further empowering the Elon Musk-led outfit.

The order titled “Implementing the president’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ workforce optimization initiative” builds on Trump’s
Jan. 20 order establishing the DOGE and requires federal agency heads to make “preparations to initiate large-scale reductions in force (RIFs), consistent with applicable law, and to separate from Federal service temporary employees and re-employed annuitants working in areas that will likely be subject to the RIFs.”

In the order, Trump tasked Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought with producing a master plan outlining how to reduce the federal bureaucracy through “efficiency improvements and attrition.” The plan must require that each agency can hire only one employee for every four employees kicked to the curb — a ratio that won’t apply to jobs related to immigration, public safety, or law enforcement.

Agency heads must in turn develop hiring plans in consultation with the DOGE team leader assigned to their agency, ensuring the strategic and timely placement of new career appointment hires as well as continued absences in positions the DOGE figures better left unmanned.

Trump further made clear that offices that “perform functions not mandated by statute or other law,” especially those surviving offices that engage in DEI initiatives, should be prioritized for house cleaning.

‘It’s just something we’ve got to fix.’

Trump Strips Security Clearance from NewsGuard Adviser Michael Hayden– www.breitbart.com
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President Donald Trump on the first day of his administration stripped the security clearances of a number of anti-Trump former officials, including retired Gen. Michael Hayden, an adviser to Newsguard, the establishment pro-censorship group operating a news blacklist against conservatives.

Trump’s removed 50 security clearances, including former CIA and National Security Agency (NSA) Director and retired Air Force General Michael Hayden.

Hayden is a controversial public figure, even for those in the Never Trump camp.

For instance, he called Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) to be removed from the “human race” in a social media post in late October 2023.

Hayden is also an adviser for Newsguard, an organization that ranks the alleged reliability of news outlets via a browser extension. Newsguard portrays itself as neutral; however, it favors left-leaning, corporate-owned media outlets, even if they publish verifiable disinformation without corrections, and often target right-leaning news outlets. In practice, it is a blacklisting tool aimed squarely at conservatives and a cornerstone of what Trump FCC Chairman Brendar Carr calls the Censorship Cartel.

Trump reinstates Schedule F, expanding power to fire federal workers– www.washingtonexaminer.com
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President Donald Trump has reimplemented a controversial policy that gives him the power to fire some federal employees who previously enjoyed job protections.

Hours after he was sworn into office on Monday, Trump signed an executive order giving him more power over career federal workers, previously known as “Schedule F.” The move is a centerpiece in a broader effort to rein in the size and scope of the federal bureaucracy, an issue he and his ally, Tesla founder Elon Musk, spoke about a lot on the campaign trail.

“We’re getting rid of all of the cancer — I call it cancer — the cancer caused by the Biden administration,” Trump said as he signed the order.

The order restates one issued in the last days of the previous Trump administration and subsequently undone by former President Joe Biden that would create a new class of career federal workers who could be removed based on policy considerations. Previously, they would have been labeled “Schedule F” employees. This order would categorize them as “policy/career” employees.

The order is meant to make government employees more responsive to the president and to prevent what Trump has termed “the deep state” from obstructing his agenda. Critics have argued that it would undermine the quality of the bureaucracy.

Anti-Trump Protests Fail to Deliver– www.dailysignal.com
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DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION—Left-wing groups opposing Donald Trump’s second presidency had plans to “fight back” with thousands of protesters in Washington, D.C., on Monday—but that’s not what happened.

The Act Now to Stop War and End Racism Coalition and the People’s Forum, who were behind anti-Israel riots last summer in the nation’s capital, organized Inauguration Day rallies that led local law enforcement to expect around 10,000 people across the town, starting at Malcolm X Park. The Daily Caller News Foundation, however, observed a different scene: a crowd of dozens standing in the snow, a pile of unused megaphones, and complaints about the icy weather.

“We are here on a day that is so cold that they decided to put the inauguration indoors,” one speaker said at a podium. “But for us, we’re saying that we will be here no matter what, no matter how cold it is!”

Protesters filled roughly half of the park to decry the new president’s conservative agenda while making radical demands such as the release of Palestinian criminals in Israel, labeled “political prisoners,” and “the abolition of police, prisons, and cages.”

Trump administration tells health agencies to suspend all public communications– www.washingtonexaminer.com
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President Donald Trump’s administration has directed all federal health agencies to pause external communications, including health advisories and reports.

Staff at agencies inside the Department of Health and Human Services, including officials at the Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and National Institutes of Health, received the order Tuesday, according to the Washington Post.  The guidance given by the Trump administration was not clear on whether the directive would affect more urgent communications, such as foodborne disease outbreaks, drug approvals, and new bird flu cases.

“A temporary pause in the flow of health information should not be cause for concern,” Dr. Brian Castrucci, president and CEO of the de Beaumont Foundation, a nonprofit organization that studies and seeks to support the nation’s public health workforce, told CNN.

“The question is how extensively is that pause enforced? If there is something that requires immediate action, it needs to be communicated because lapsed time means lost lives,” Castrucci added.

Pentagon swears in 32 new Trump appointees for top defense posts– www.washingtontimes.com
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The Pentagon inducted 32 new Trump administration appointees for key defense positions, including many aides formerly working for national security committees on Capitol Hill or veterans of the previous Trump administration.

Trump revokes security clearances of Hunter Biden laptop letter signatories– www.washingtonexaminer.com
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President Donald Trump revoked the security clearances of the former intelligence officials who attempted to discredit the authenticity of the Hunter Biden laptop ahead of the 2020 election, as part of a slew of executive orders signed Monday evening.

The 51 former intelligence community officials claimed in an October 2020 letter that a New York Post report about Hunter Biden’s laptop and its contents, had “all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.” The New York Post story was dismissed by then-candidate Joe Biden and had its reach limited by various social media platforms, relying on the letter. The authenticity of the laptop was later confirmed by numerous media outlets, including the Washington Examiner.

President Donald Trump talks to reporters as he signs executive orders on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

As one of his many executive orders signed Monday evening, Trump revoked the security clearances of the letter’s signatories and former Trump national security adviser John Bolton.

The president said federal government policymakers rely on members of the intelligence community to provide analysis that is “free from politically motivated engineering to affect political outcomes in the United States” and argued that the people who signed the letter undermined that.

‘YOU’RE FIRED’: Trump admin removes ‘over a thousand’ Biden-appointed staffers ‘not aligned’ with MAGA | The Post Millennial– thepostmillennial.com
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“My Presidential Personnel Office is actively in the process of identifying and removing over a thousand Presidential Appointees from the previous Administration.”

President Donald Trump and his incoming staff are in the process of firing over a thousand staffers appointed by the former outgoing Biden administration as the 47th President takes office. This comes after Trump signed dozens of executive orders on Monday, with some dealing with staffing of the executive branch and getting rid of DEI-related positions as well.

Trump posted on Truth Social early Tuesday morning, “Our first day in the White House is not over yet! My Presidential Personnel Office is actively in the process of identifying and removing over a thousand Presidential Appointees from the previous Administration, who are not aligned with our vision to Make America Great Again.”