Blumenthal & Peters Demand Answers from Trump Agency Heads About Mass Firings

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), and Gary Peters, Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs, wrote to the heads of 15 government agencies demanding information about mass firings of civil servants driven by Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (“DOGE”). In their letters, Blumenthal and Peters raised concerns that Musk’s politicization and destabilization of the civil service will harm services the American people rely on and ultimately cost taxpayers more money.

Blumenthal and Peters wrote, “Efforts to intimidate and traumatize federal civil servants through mass firings, forced leave, email threats, loyalty pledges, and more not only severely undermine the federal workforce morale, retention, and institutional knowledge, but jeopardize the critical, often life-saving services these workers deliver to the American people every day. While purportedly in the name of increased efficiency, the chaos sown by Mr. Musk’s reckless, arbitrary edicts to the federal workforce will ultimately cost the federal government far more than any imagined savings—generating tremendous amounts of needless waste.”

The Senators underscored the chaos caused by Musk’s mass firings and the threat this poses to critical programs, “Thousands of public servants have been left in limbo, some stranded overseas, wondering if they still have a job. Others have been fired without regard to their critical functions, leaving agencies to scramble to re-hire them—such as those supervising our nuclear stockpile, tracking the spread of bird flu, and monitoring the safety of infant formula.”

The Senators continued, “Firings at the Social Security Administration, for example, put payments to millions of beneficiaries in jeopardy.  The Department of Veterans Affairs’ ability to care for our veterans and their families will be drastically undermined by unprecedented staffing reductions. The effective closure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has removed thousands of federal workers whose jobs were to prevent American consumers from being targeted by financial scams.  Indiscriminate staffing cuts at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Agency for International Development risk devastating impacts on farmers and rural communities.”

The Senators pointed out how Musk’s mass firings and efforts with “DOGE” could ultimately cost taxpayers more money, “Greatly diminished staffs of agencies providing critical public services will increasingly turn to profit-driven, private government contractors, driving up the cost to taxpayers while corporations pocket the difference. Meanwhile, at the same time that Mr. Musk slashes government workers in the name of efficiency, he is seeking to double the staff at DOGE and compensate his handpicked allies with six-figure salaries. DOGE’s budget has ballooned to nearly $40 million and is financed mostly by payments from other agencies for DOGE employees.”

“The American people deserve better from their government. The public deserves to know how agency leaders have been implementing DOGE purges, how they intend to manage their nonpartisan workforce in the future, and indeed whether they are following the law and established agency rules and policies,” the Senators concluded.

The full text of the Senators’ letter to the Department of Agriculture is available here and below. Identical letters were sent to the Departments of Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Justice, Labor, State, the Interior, the Treasury, Transportation, and Veterans Affairs.

VIA EMAIL

The Honorable Brooke Rollins

Secretary of Agriculture

U.S. Department of Agriculture

1400 Independence Avenue SW

Washington, D.C. 20250

Dear Secretary Rollins:

The Trump Administration’s politically-motivated campaign to decimate the federal workforce—recklessly driven by Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (“DOGE”)—has exacted devastating and lasting harm on the dedicated public servants who work for the American people, including your staff at the Department of Agriculture. We write to request information and records to assist the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs’ (“HSGAC” or “the Committee”) and the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations’ (“PSI” or “the Subcommittee”) understanding of how Mr. Musk’s unprecedented and dangerous push to politicize and destabilize our civil service has impacted your agency.

Efforts to intimidate and traumatize federal civil servants through mass firings, forced leave, email threats, loyalty pledges, and more not only severely undermine the federal workforce morale, retention, and institutional knowledge, but jeopardize the critical, often life-saving services these workers deliver to the American people every day. While purportedly in the name of increased efficiency, the chaos sown by Mr. Musk’s reckless, arbitrary edicts to the federal workforce will ultimately cost the federal government far more than any imagined savings—generating tremendous amounts of needless waste. As the steward of your agency, we urge you to take all appropriate action to ensure the integrity of the Department of Agriculture, its workforce, and the services it performs for the American people.^[1]

The unjustified assault on the federal workforce has taken shape in numerous troubling ways. Mass firings, forced leave, and deferred resignations leave much smaller teams of remaining employees to shoulder impossible burdens. New and promoted probationary employees have been targeted and treated as disposable rather than as an investment in the future.^[2] Thousands of public servants have been left in limbo, some stranded overseas, wondering if they still have a job.^[3] Others have been fired without regard to their critical functions, leaving agencies to scramble to re-hire them—such as those supervising our nuclear stockpile, tracking the spread of bird flu, and monitoring the safety of infant formula.^[4] Some employees were pressured to take buyout offers of up to $25,000 under sudden and unreasonable deadlines.^[5] Still more have been beguiled by “deferred resignation” offers of dubious legality with shifting terms, enticing them with the promise of continued pay for no work, only to have the rug pulled from under them when they too are fired.^[6]

The chaos imposed by the destructive Trump-Musk campaign to gut the federal workforce threatens the critical services that federal agencies provide to the American people. Firings at the Social Security Administration, for example, put payments to millions of beneficiaries in jeopardy.^[7] The Department of Veterans Affairs’ ability to care for our veterans and their families will be drastically undermined by unprecedented staffing reductions.^[8] The effective closure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has removed thousands of federal workers whose jobs were to prevent American consumers from being targeted by financial scams.^[9] Indiscriminate staffing cuts at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Agency for International Development risk devastating impacts on farmers and rural communities.^[10] Layoffs at the Internal Revenue Service, Federal Housing Authority, and Department of Energy will make it easier for tax cheats to evade detection while driving up housing and energy costs for everyday taxpayers.^[11] Moreover, mass firings and chaotic directives at the Federal Aviation Administration increase the risks of dangerous aviation incidents.^[12] As one former senior Federal Aviation Administration executive explained, “People die when FAA workers are distracted and processes are broken.”^[13]

The disconnect between the Trump Administration’s stated objective of improving efficiency and the destructive actions Mr. Musk has put into motion is not only absurd but also incredibly costly and wasteful. The campaign against the federal workforce will cost taxpayers dearly, both directly and indirectly. For example, in the name of fighting waste and abuse, thousands of federal employees have been ordered to take administrative leave—meaning they are being paid with taxpayer dollars to do nothing.^[14] The investments previously made to train thousands of now fired probationary employees will have zero return, and may need to be repeated when DOGE once again discovers that fired workers held crucial roles. As one fired Internal Revenue Service probationary employee complained, “I’m appalled my tax dollars were wasted on getting all those employees trained, and they didn’t even get the chance to get out of their probationary period.”^[15] Moreover, federal employee layoffs will cost the federal government billions of dollars in unemployment benefits and wrongful termination claims.^[16] Greatly diminished staffs of agencies providing critical public services will increasingly turn to profit-driven, private government contractors, driving up the cost to taxpayers while corporations pocket the difference.^[17] Meanwhile, at the same time that Mr. Musk slashes government workers in the name of efficiency, he is seeking to double the staff at DOGE and compensate his handpicked allies with six-figure salaries.^[18] DOGE’s budget has ballooned to nearly $40 million and is financed mostly by payments from other agencies for DOGE employees.^[19] In one instance, they charged an agency for 20 DOGE employees, which could amount to a $4 million bill at the taxpayer’s expense.^[20]

Beyond the sizeable and immediate economic impact resulting from disruptions to government functions, the broader effort to politicize the civil service endangers its vital, nonpartisan work. Reports have emerged of Trump loyalty tests and questionnaires being used to weed out those not deemed sufficiently loyal to the President instead of the U.S. Constitution and the rule of law.^[21] The revised Schedule Policy/Career and redesignations aimed at senior managers seek to weaken competitive hiring, remove protections from partisan discrimination, and permit politics to seep into every layer of government.^[22] Such transformation will open a revolving door for political operatives while driving away true talent, reverting federal employment to the corrupt spoils system rejected by federal law more than a century ago, a system where money and favor are elevated over merit and competence.^[23]

The American people deserve better from their government. The public deserves to know how agency leaders have been implementing DOGE purges, how they intend to manage their nonpartisan workforce in the future, and indeed whether they are following the law and established agency rules and policies. For the reasons stated above and pursuant to the authority under Senate Rule XXV of the Standing Rules of the Senate and Senate Resolution 94 (119th Cong.), Section 12, please provide information responsive to the following requests by April 29, 2025, and on an ongoing basis every two (2) weeks thereafter.

1. Please provide the following information for your agency, broken down by each subagency:
   1. The total number of employees as of January 20, 2025.
   2. The total number of employees on probationary status^[24] as of January 20, 2025, including the number employees on probationary status due to new hire status, recent promotion, inter or intra-agency transfer, or any other reason.
   3. The number of separations processed since January 20, 2025, by the type of separation (e.g. the nature of action and legal authority code) and probationary status.
   4. The number of employees who accepted the Deferred Resignation Program.
   5. The number of requests under the Deferred Resignation Program that were denied by the agency including reasons why each request was denied.
   6. The number of employees who accepted any other voluntary separation program you may have offered. Please specify the program (e.g., VISP or VERA) and total cost of these offers to date.
   7. The number of employees who have been placed on administrative leave since January 20, 2025. Please specify the reasons and statutory or regulatory basis for each employee placed on administrative leave, including whether the employee was placed on administrative leave involuntarily, including the reason for using administrative leave voluntarily or involuntarily.

2. Please provide the following cost information associated with employees your agency has separated since January 20, 2025:
   1. The total cost of salary and benefits (accrued or estimated) for all employees who accepted the Deferred Resignation Program and whose acceptances were not denied by the agency.
   2. The total cost of any severance, buyout, or other lump sum payment offered through any program (e.g. VISP or VERA) since January 20, 2025.
   3. The total cost of salary and benefits for any employees placed on administrative leave involuntarily for the duration of any period of administrative leave.
   4. The total cost of training and onboarding conducted within the past two years for all probationary employees terminated since January 20, 2025.
   5. The total cost of training for any current employees or contractors utilized by the agency to replace employees who have a) been separated from the agency through involuntary termination other than for cause, b) accepted the Deferred Resignation Program or other voluntary termination offer, or c) been involuntarily placed on administrative leave.

3. Since January 20, 2025, have you reinstated or reemployed any employees after their separation? If any, please provide the number of affected employees, the reason(s) for the separations, and the reason(s) for reinstatement or reemployment.

4. Please identify and explain in detail each factor considered in determining:
   1. Which probationary employees to retain or separate;
   2. Which employees to reinstate or reemploy following a separation;
   3. Which employees to place on administrative leave;
   4. Which employees would be eligible for the Deferred Resignation Program; and
   5. Which employees would be eligible for any other voluntary separation program you have offered.

5. Who—including but not limited to supervisors, executives, attorneys, political appointees, contractors, labor organizations, human resources specialists, and parties outside your organization—was consulted or involved in the processes described in question 4? Please describe the role of each identified party.

6. What records or tools, including but not limited to software, electronic systems, databases, questionnaires or surveys, automation tools, algorithms, and artificial intelligence (AI) platforms, were involved in the processes described in question 4?. Please name each platform or program and explain in detail the role each played in the decision-making process.

7. What procedural or due process rights were afforded to the employees identified in question 1.b.? Were the employees identified in question 1.b. issued a written notice of their separation? What notice, if any, was provided to employees regarding their right to appeal or dispute the action?

8. Please indicate by subagency those who have been or will be involved or consulted in the process of drafting the following items, and the role of each identified party:
   1. Agency Reduction in Force and Reorganization Plans;
   2. Recommendations and petitions for moving positions into Schedule Policy/Career; and
   3. Recommendations and petitions for redesignation of Senior Executive Service positions.

In addition, please provide the Committee and the Subcommittee with the following records^[25] by April 29, 2025, and on an ongoing basis every two (2) weeks thereafter:

9. Agency Contingency Plans submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) since 2019.

10. All records transmitted by your agency to OPM or by OPM to your agency on or after January 20, 2025, referring or relating to:

1. 1. Retaining or separating probationary employees;
   2. Placing employees on administrative leave;
   3. Determining employee eligibility for the Deferred Resignation Program or any other voluntary separation programs that have been offered to employees;
   4. Employee performance data;
   5. Agency Reduction in Force and Reorganization Plans;
   6. Moving positions into Schedule Policy/Career; and
   7. Redesignating Senior Executive Service positions.

Please contact the Committee and the Subcommittee should you have any questions about responding to these requests. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

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