Behind Musk’s Reforms

In less than four weeks since taking office, Musk and his "Department of Government Efficiency" team have already engaged with at least 19 U.S. government departments, sparked at least 14 legal actions, affected tens of thousands of U.S. federal employees, and earned Musk the cover of Time magazine, appearing alone behind the desk in the Oval Office as President of the United States.

On February 11, while holding a joint press conference with Elon Musk, Donald Trump signed a new executive order to restrict government employee hiring and promote large-scale layoffs. This move initiates the "critical transformation" of the government that he has repeatedly emphasized since his campaign days, marking a formal declaration of war on what he calls the "federal bureaucracy."

The powers of the Department of Government Efficiency, which is not a formal government agency, have been significantly expanded once again. A new executive order stipulates that, except for agencies involved in law enforcement and immigration enforcement, all administrative departments should make hiring decisions in consultation with team leaders set up by the Department of Government Efficiency within their respective departments. Generally, positions deemed unnecessary through evaluations should not be filled. Employees from departments related to "diversity, equity, and inclusion" policies are listed as priority for layoffs. In future, the U.S. government agencies should maintain a layoff-to-hiring ratio of at least 4:1.