President Donald Trump said he directed cabinet secretaries to use a “scalpel” rather than a “hatchet” to make personnel cuts, a directive aiming to quell blowback after waves of job cuts have roiled the federal workforce.
“I have instructed the Secretaries and Leadership to work with DOGE on Cost Cutting measures and Staffing,” Trump said in a social media post on Thursday, referring to Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency effort. “As the Secretaries learn about, and understand, the people working for the various Departments, they can be very precise as to who will remain, and who will go.”
“It’s very important that we cut levels down to where they should be, but it’s also important to keep the best and most productive people,” Trump added.
Trump’s message suggests that he is seeking to shift more power and responsibility to department leaders — rather than DOGE — to carry out workforce cuts. DOGE, a White House office tasked with cutting the federal budget, has descended upon agencies, accessing data and directing leadership to draw up lists for job cuts.
The president’s directive follows a series of conflicting orders from DOGE and Musk about workforce reductions, that have prompted concerns from Republican allies.
Musk has also directed all federal workers to send weekly emails with five bullet points outlining their work for the week. The billionaire has suggested that those who don’t reply would be fired. But official guidance from the Office of Personnel Management said any staffing decisions are at the discretion of each agency, a point Trump underscored on Thursday.
Trump and Musk have presented a united front, with the president publicly praising the billionaire adviser at a cabinet meeting last month. However, DOGE’s penchant for moving quickly to make spending and staffing cuts has irked some agency leaders and White House staff who are concerned that the initiative’s actions could prompt legal challenges and political problems.
Trump said the cabinet would meet every two weeks to discuss government overhaul efforts until the workforce is downsized to where it “should be.”
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