The Trump administration has fired multiple federal employees responsible for ensuring public trust amid a controversial effort to downsize the federal workforce led by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump has prioritized reducing the size of the federal government. This effort has been led by the newly formed DOGE, which is tasked with streamlining operations and cutting costs across agencies.
A key figure in this initiative is Elon Musk, who has been granted security clearances alongside his associates to oversee the process. However, concerns have been raised about the transparency and legality of this access, prompting a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to investigate the security clearances granted to Musk and DOGE personnel.
In response, the administration has taken steps that critics say could limit government accountability, CNN reported.
Multiple members of the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) privacy team, communications staff and FOIA response employees were abruptly fired. An email response from an OPM address confirmed the dismissals, stating, "Good luck with that, they just fired the whole privacy team," in reply to a CNN FOIA request.
A source familiar with the situation revealed to the outlet that some of these firings are set to take effect on April 15, raising further questions about the administration's long-term plans for federal transparency and oversight.
While an OPM spokesperson denied that the entire privacy team was terminated, they declined to provide further details.
Meanwhile, Musk's role in streamlining government employment practices has drawn comparisons to his previous mass layoffs at Twitter (now X), where he eliminated the entire media relations department.
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