Trump's DOGE purge strikes back: EIGHT THOUSAND federal workers face the chop under sweeping order

By CHASE HOPE, POLITICAL REPORTER FOR THE DAILY MAIL Published: 19:49, 4 June 2026 | Updated: 19:55, 4 June 2026 Donald Trump's purge of the federal bureaucracy escalated Wednesday with an executive order making it easier to fire 8,000 federal workers. The order reclassified the workers as at-will employees, meaning the government can now terminate them without offering a reason. A rule finalized by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) earlier this year established a new category of at-will employees known as 'Schedule Policy/Career.' Trump's order Wednesday put those 8,000 workers, generally senior policymakers, into the new category. 'It's been a long-standing problem that it's almost impossible to fire a federal employee, even in cases of serious misconduct,' said James Sherk of the Domestic Policy Council at the public signing of the order. 'And that's a particular problem if you're in a senior policy-influencing role.' The President lauded Sherk as a key architect of the order. 'What this [order] does is basically treat those employees like private sector workers,' Sherk added. Previously, only around 4,000 federal employees could be hired and fired with the at-will procedures. Under the terms of Trump's order, that number triples to 12,000. President Trump signed two executive orders in an Oval Office ceremony on Wednesday Though tech billionaire Elon Musk only considers his DOGE efforts to be partially successful, many have criticized the Trump administration's attempts to shrink the federal government The Trump administration has loudly been seeking cuts to the federal workforce since Trump's inauguration last January, employing tech billionaire Elon Musk's DOGE and engaging in mass firings. Not all of these job cuts have stuck - Musk later described his government-shrinking project as only 'a little bit successful,' and courts have frequently ordered the rehiring of fired employees - but Trump's job cuts have provoked sharp criticism.  A White House fact sheet on Wednesday's order maintained that any firings of federal workers would take place 'without respect to political affiliation.' But outraged critics say the order enables Trump to further prioritize partisan, and even personal, allegiance in the federal workforce. The Partnership for Public Service, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization, issued a statement from its CEO Max Stier denigrating the order as a return to the 'spoils system.'  The spoils system was an 1800s political practice in which each new president overhauled the federal bureaucracy and replaced previous appointees with loyalists.  'This administration is hiding the ball in claiming that this new schedule will address the challenge of poor performers in our government,' Stier continued. 'Loyalty to the president rather than effective service to the public will be the new coin of the realm.' Miles Taylor, a Trump opponent who served as chief of staff for DHS during the President's first term, wrote on X on Thursday that the order violated civil service law and warned that 'Trump has tripled the size of his personal political army inside the government.' Donald Trump (L) and first lady Melania Trump (R) pose for a photo in front of the White House press photographers during the congressional picnic on the South Lawn of the White House on May 19 The Trump administration has loudly been seeking cuts to the federal workforce since Trump's inauguration last January, employing tech billionaire Elon Musk's (pictured in February last year) DOGE and engaging in mass firings These criticisms come even as the number of workers re-classified is much smaller than initially expected. The OPM had predicted in February that as many as 50,000 would be affected by the Trump administration's efforts. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.