President Trump began his second term in office by signing an executive order to create the Department of Government Efficiency and institute a sweeping federal hiring freeze, exempting only positions related to immigration enforcement and security.

Eight days later, the new administration sent an email to all existing employees showcasing their underlying philosophy about the government workforce: “The way to greater American prosperity is encouraging people to move from lower productivity jobs in the public sector to higher productivity jobs in the private sector.” Their plan failed–a very small percentage of workers took the bait. But the misguided philosophy behind these efforts showcases a fundamental misunderstanding of what it takes to keep America running. The reality is this: if we want the federal government to efficiently and effectively deliver for Americans, we need to invest in strengthening it, not break it.

The idea that cutting staff will improve the federal government isn’t new. It was popular in the 1980s and ’90s and it failed – often leading to contractors doing the same work with less accountability at a greater cost. What we’ve learned is that whether the civil service is “too big” or “too small” depends on what we want it to do. And right now, huge parts of government are facing not bloat but vacancies: a shortage of air traffic controllers to keep pace with commercial flights, firefighters leaving the U.S. Forest Service, and a dearth of housing specialists who we depend on to stabilize the housing market. These shortages don’t just cause inefficiencies – they put Americans at risk. A shrinking public workforce means more contaminated food and water, dangerous roads and bridges, longer processing times for business permits, passports, and Social Security checks. An aging workforce is only exacerbating the problem.

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