Agencies will redouble efforts to “rightsize” the federal workforce in the wake of the Supreme Court’s July 8 opinion allowing the Trump Administration’s mass reductions in force (RIFs) to proceed, according to Office of Management Budget Deputy Director for Management Eric Ueland. He said agencies will “address the question of, ‘Do we have the right people in the right place, and, at times, do we have too many people in the wrong place?’”

Both the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Education had sent RIF notices before the legal battle, and began moving forward in their efforts. The State Department followed suit with RIF notices sent to approximately 1,100 civil servants and 250 foreign service officers.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will use layoffs “if needed,” in a memo from Secretary Brooke Rollins accompanying a broader reorganization plan detailed elsewhere in this newsletter. That agency has trimmed approximately 15,000 jobs so far in 2025 by way of deferred resignations and voluntary retirement.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has already cut more than 25 percent of its workforce. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sent a third deferred resignation / voluntary early retirement letter to employees in July.

In July, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced it has shed 17,000 positions since January, via attrition, the hiring freeze, deferred resignation and retirement, and is no longer considering large-scale RIFs. The department expects another 12,000 employees to leave without a need for RIFs. The VA had previously announced it sought to cut 15 percent of its workforce, or more than 70,000 jobs.

Chris Kowalik at My Federal Retirement published several Fact Sheets that may be helpful if you are impacted by RIFs. They are designed to be resources to simplify federal benefits topics and help you understand the consequences of each program and make informed decisions.

The fact sheets focus on:

• Voluntary Early Retirement Authority (VERA)
• Voluntary Separation Incentive Pay (VSIP)
• Discontinued Service Retirement (DSR), and
• Severance Pay

All fact sheets are downloadable in PDF format here.

Speaking at Government Executive’s recent Government Efficiency Summit in July, Ueland also stated the administration is working on a President’s Management Agenda (PMA) that will be released “in due course.” The PMA will focus on reorganization and reform of the federal government; fixing procurement; restoring the Made in America effort; and, the smart use of technology in the 21^st century.