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.

  • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
    7·
    16 hours ago

    Earlier this month, as Israel’s conflict with Iran escalated, Voice of America called back dozens of Farsi speakers who had been on paid administrative leave since March. Those staffers at its Persian-language service were among hundreds who were then laid off again the next week, as the Trump administration gutted the network.

    Fucking shameful