US President Donald Trump signed an executive order obliging US government agencies to work closely with Elon Musk on large-scale staff cuts, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
Musk met with Trump in the Oval Office of the White House today and attended the signing of the new executive order, along with his 4-year-old son. The billionaire, who headed the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency, also answered questions from journalists.
"There can be no autonomous federal bureaucracy", said Musk, who wore a hat with the inscription: "Make America Great Again". He stressed that government employees must meet the needs of the people.
The CEO of the company "Tesla" and owner of the social network "X" responded to criticism that he and his team at the Department of Government Efficiency are largely working in secret. Musk assured that he expects to be checked and that he is far from the illusion that "he can escape responsibility".
For now, the department headed by Musk operates in almost complete secrecy, Reuters notes. It does not provide any information about who it hires, where it works or what actions it takes with regard to government agencies. In addition, the Department of Government Efficiency publishes little data on the actual results of its work.
The decree that Trump signed is another step towards the implementation of the new political priorities of the White House. According to the decree, government agencies must hire no more than one employee for every four who have left. In addition, the agencies are obliged to cooperate with Musk's team on large-scale staff reductions and indicate which departments of an agency can be completely closed.
The order protects from layoffs those employees whose work is critical to national security, public safety, law enforcement and immigration.
Many government employees are members of unions, which means that any major layoffs or reductions in staff must be consistent with their collective bargaining agreements. State administration employees who are not members of unions also enjoy job protections under federal law.
The White House has fired the inspector general of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Paul Martin, the Associated Press reported, quoted by BTA.
The inspectors general are tasked with overseeing government agencies and are tasked with preventing waste, fraud and abuse. The Trump administration has previously fired more than 10 inspectors general.
The office of the ousted Martin issued a report on Monday warning that due to the freezing of funding for the United States Agency for International Development, oversight of humanitarian aid is now "largely dysfunctional". The text states that there are $8.2 billion in unspent funds and that the oversight body is having difficulty ensuring that this money does not fall into the hands of extremist groups or that some of it is not diverted to various conflict zones.
A new lawsuit was filed today against the agency's rapid dismantling. According to the plaintiffs, the government's actions are costing American businesses hundreds of millions of dollars. The sudden freeze on foreign aid is also forcing massive layoffs at U.S. suppliers and contractors. Washington-based Chemonics International has laid off 750 employees, the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Washington against President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Acting Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Agency for Foreign Development Peter Marocco, who was appointed by Trump.