Federal agencies are rehiring and ordering back from leave some of the employees who were laid off in the weeks after Donald Trump took office as they scramble to fill critical gaps in services left by the DOGE-led effort to shrink the federal workforce.
The Trump administration’s quiet backtracking from the firings and voluntary retirements — which are also paired with new hires to fill vacancies those departures created — come as federal agencies are still implementing their “reduction-in-force” plans as part of a push for spending cuts.
Experts warned that even though the Trump administration has backtracked on some of its efforts to shrink the federal workforce, the rapid rehirings are a warning sign that it has lost more capacities and expertise that could prove critical — and difficult to replace — in the months and years ahead.
Yes you’re fired! but frankly, we need you to work. Your job is critical to our operations, and that’s why we had to let you go. Yes we’re cutting funding to that department, I don’t want to get into the weeds about how we’ll afford to pay you, but we do need your expertise. Now get out of here and stop being a lazy bum. We’ll see you back at the desk next month.
Aha! Art of the business!