Trump memo calls for escalation of mass layoffs at federal agencies

The review will be conducted by the White House Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel Management. The memo directs agencies to work with team leaders at the Elon Musk-led U.S. DOGE Service.

A number of entities are excluded from the directive, including law enforcement, border security, national security, immigration enforcement, public safety and the U.S. Postal Service.

The memo is the latest in Trump’s effort to dramatically downsize the federal workforce, which he calls inefficient and an impediment to his agenda. While the majority of layoffs thus far have been probationary employees who are easier to part with, the Wednesday memo represents more dramatic actions to come.

Agencies involved in the real estate industry have gotten caught in the middle.

Trump and the Republican Party have made no secret of their disdain for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and the department was among the first targeted by the administration.

Scott Bessent, the first of the CFPB’s acting directors in the past month, ordered employees to stop working in one of his first actions after assuming the role. Russell Vought, the architect of the controversial Project 2025 plan, took over days later and shut down most of the department’s functions and funding.

A federal judge put a temporary hold on the mass layoffs of CFPB employees until after a hearing set for March 3.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has also been subject to cuts. A report earlier this month suggested that the White House is looking at a series of cuts that would lower HUD’s head count by 50%, or roughly 4,800 employees.

According to Bloomberg Law, the cuts will target employees involved in civil rights enforcement, the compilation of housing market data and disaster recovery.