It Is Happening Every Day, Every Where
Workers at a handful of agencies have begun receiving notifications that they are part of the “reduction in force” directed by the president, after a wave of firings that targeted probationary workers.
Ms. Gleason is the acting administrator of the Department of Government Efficiency, according to a White House official. The news comes as a federal judge questioned who was leading the operation.
“The federal government might say ‘You’re fired,’ but here in New York, we say ‘You’re hired,’” Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a recruiting video. The state has more than 7,000 unfilled government posts.
The employees had worked for the U.S. Digital Service, a technology-focused unit rebranded by Mr. Musk and empowered by President Trump.
Hampton Dellinger, the head of the Office of Special Counsel, recommended pausing the mass firings of some probationary federal employees.
The judge expressed concern over the unresolved issues about who is in charge of Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency, if it is not Mr. Musk, as the White House has claimed.
President Trump said workers would be “sort of semi-fired” or fired if they didn’t comply. The Office of Personnel Management said responses were voluntary. Federal workers said they didn’t know what to do.
The former presidential candidate is seeking the top office in his home state after a brief stint on President Trump’s cost-cutting task force alongside Elon Musk.
The American Federation of Teachers, a union representing more than 1.8 million educators, had sued to keep members of Mr. Musk’s government efficiency team out of the Education Department’s systems.
The F.B.I. director, Kash Patel, the director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, and others told employees not to respond to a directive from Mr. Musk to summarize their accomplishments.