President Donald J. Trump holds a cabinet meeting, May 27, 2026
As part of a broader overhaul to the federal workforce, on Wednesday, President Trump signed an executive order to make it easier to terminate thousands of government workers.
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The White House and the Office of Personnel Management released the order stating the job protections of 8,000 of the highest paid federal employees, some making nearly $200,000 a year, have been removed.
Director of the Office of Personnel Management Scott Kupor said the administration needs people who are willing to work in the best interests of the administration. Many of those being targeted were deemed to be “influencing” government policy.
What they’re saying:
Kupor commented just prior to the order, “You can have any political views, but if you allow those views to basically interfere with your willingness to actually carry out lawful orders and policy directives with the administration, then this provides a mechanism obviously for people in those agencies to be able to be removed effectively at will.”
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By the numbers:
In total, there are an estimated 50,000 workers who could have been impacted by the new roles. While only 8,000 of them could be eliminated, senior administration officials said Trump could expand the group.
The backstory:
President Trump has a documented history of singling out career government employees or political enemies he views as undermining his administration, including officials in the intelligence community, State Department and national security.
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