Top blue-state Republican launches comprehensive DOGE effort, with a twist
A top Republican in the Pennsylvania legislature is drafting plans for a Department of Government Efficiency modeled after the work of President Donald Trump, Elon Musk and congressional DOGE lawmakers, but with one major difference. State Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Gettysburg, said in a Tuesday interview his plan entails PA DOGE being a legislative branch project, not that of the executive, which is currently helmed by Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro. At the federal level, Trump and Musk say they are working from the executive branch to slash government bureaucracy and inefficiency, but Mastriano said Pennsylvania’s legislature is the chief appropriator and therefore the fitting home for PA DOGE. “It doesn’t make any sense why we always defer to the executive branch seeing it for these kinds of decisions,” said Mastriano, the 2022 GOP gubernatorial nominee. LAWMAKERS DRAFT ‘DRAIN THE SWAMP’ ACT “We have oversight of the purse strings. We control the budget. It only makes sense, therefore, that we have a DOGE by the legislature with oversight to make cuts where we can.” State Treasurer Stacy Garrity and Auditor General Timothy DeFoor would, however, have a say in some of its membership, he noted. Mastriano, who ran as the 2022 GOP gubernatorial nominee against Shapiro, said that when Musk unveiled his original DOGE proposal, he thought, “No kidding, we absolutely must have this in Pennsylvania.” The lawmaker, who is also a retired Army colonel and veteran of the Desert Storm Battle of 73 Easting – history’s last major tank battle – said his DOGE committee plan was also inspired by his experiences with the federal military bureaucracy. “I remember in the ’80s when Reagan came in, and there was accountability done when reporters found out the U.S. Air Force had spent $800 on toilet seats for the airplanes and another case of a hammer [reportedly costing hundreds of dollars] that they wanted to buy – so that kind of fraud, waste, abuse has been extant throughout my career.” “And in DoD, we always had a fraud-waste-abuse hotline – then you see what Elon Musk is doing. We need that in Pennsylvania.” DOGE ANNOUNCES MORE THAN $1B IN SAVINGS Mastriano added that if legislation to create PA DOGE is passed, it will be Shapiro’s “ultimate test” of bipartisanship to consider it. In separate remarks to Chambersburg’s 103.7FM, Mastriano quipped that some state cabinet departments are run “like USAID” in that they take in a lot of money and put out very little of value – and would therefore be a prime target of PA DOGE. Mastriano suggested PA DOGE is also the panacea to bloated executive budget proposals the legislature has been handed over the years. Under the proposal, three of PA DOGE’s 10 members would be House lawmakers, three would be senators, the state treasurer would name one member, the auditor general would name one member and two would be civilians. Any ties would be broken by the state treasurer; currently Garrity – a Republican. “This committee will have teeth,” Mastriano said. “If the committee sees fraud, waste and abuse and decides to eliminate elements of the state budget or even departments within the state, they have the power to do so.” Fox News Digital reached out to leaders on the Senate Intergovernmental Operations Committee – which oversees and manages relationships within state government and would be the relevant panel should the DOGE plan come to fruition. Chairman Jarrett Coleman, R-Allentown, told Fox News Digital it is “well past time to examine how state funds are being used.” Coleman said he will support any effort to highlight or minimize government waste. “Oftentimes, I question whether or not elected officials would be so wasteful if it were their own money,” he said. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The chairman, who is a pilot by trade, suggested DOGE could target what he described as a hefty executive branch tab for use of the state plane, which he dubbed “Shapiro-Davis Airlines; Operated by PennDOT.” Clint Barkdoll, a Waynesboro attorney, told NewsTalk 103.7 that he supports the idea of a Keystone DOGE. “We need this at all levels of government, we’re seeing the benefits that it can bring. Obviously, if it’s set up in a way through the General Assembly, they don’t have to accept the recommendations,” Barkdoll said. “But why not have a body empaneled to make recommendations and make it a diverse group? Get some lay-people on there. It doesn’t have to be all elected officials: Get some business people.” The idea of having civilians on the board alongside public officials would offer wider insight into key issues and considerations, he said. State Sen. Tina Tartaglione, D-Philadelphia, the ranking member on Coleman’s committee, did not respond to a comment request. Shapiro also declined comment.
Over 150 lawmakers lend support to resistance movement inside Iran as regime’s proxies fall
FIRST ON FOX: A bipartisan group of 151 lawmakers is rallying around a resolution to support the Iranian resistance movement ahead of a hearing with an opposition leader. The resolution, led by Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., expresses support for the Iranian people and their stated desire for a “democratic, secular and non-nuclear” Iran through regime change. “The developments of the past year have left no doubt that the source of terrorism and warmongering in the Middle East region is the theocratic Islamic Republic of Iran,” the resolution reads. It calls out the Iranian regime’s oppressive practices, voices support for the opposition and calls on global leaders to continue imposing sanctions. WORLD BRACES FOR IMPACT OF TRUMP’S ‘MAXIMUM PRESSURE’ SANCTIONS TARGETING IRAN “The efforts of Western countries over the past 45 years to change the behavior of this regime have failed, and the ultimate solution to ending the Iranian regime’s threats is the establishment of a secular, democratic, and pluralistic republic by the Iranian people and resistance.” President Donald Trump has been hesitant to throw U.S. efforts into regime change in Iran. “We can’t get totally involved in all that. We can’t run ourselves, let’s face it,” he told Iranian-American producer Patrick Bet-David in October. The resolution also claimed that in the first four months of Masoud Pezeshkian’s presidency, beginning July 28, 2024, some 500 prisoners, including political prisoners and at least 17 women, were executed, and hand amputations increased. The resolution also expressed support for Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), a leading resistance group known as MEK to Iranians, and her 10-point plan to bring democracy, secular government and human rights to Iran. The plan, which has the support of 4,000 parliamentarians across the globe, calls for installing NCRI as a provisional government for six months to set up elections and a constituent assembly. It was introduced Wednesday ahead of a 2 p.m. hearing entitled “The Future of Iran” with the Congressional Iran Human Rights and Democracy Caucus, where Rajavi – a top target of Iran’s terror plots and demonization – will give testimony. PRESIDENT TRUMP CAN STOP IRAN’S MARCH TO NUCLEAR WEAPONS: ‘RE-ESTABLISH CREDIBLE MILITARY THREAT’, REPORT SAYS The first Trump administration imposed harsh sanctions to bankrupt Iran but stayed away from messaging campaigns aimed at encouraging Iranian resistance. This time around, opposition supporters say the situation on the ground has changed – the regime is far weaker after Bashar al-Assad was forced out of power in Syria and Israel has decimated its proxies, Hamas and Hezbollah. Protests have again kicked up across the nation and threaten to spread if the financial crisis does not improve. Rajavi, in her opening remarks, will say that the Iranian regime is at its weakest point in decades. “The situation of the Iranian society is explosive. During its 46-year rule, the religious fascism has never been so weak and fragile,” Rajavi is expected to say, according to remarks obtained by Fox News Digital. STATE, TREASURY DEPARTMENTS REIMPOSES ‘MAXIMUM PRESSURE’ SANCTIONS ON IRAN’S OIL TRADE “The mullahs are surrounded from all sides: by a society that is filled with anger and rebellion, by Resistance Units, and by selfless and rebellious youth, because of its bankrupt economy and corruption in the government, particularly after the overthrow of the brutal dictatorship of Assad and the collapse of the regime’s “strategic depth” in the region.” The resolution is sure to rankle Ayatollah Ali Khameni, leader of the current Iranian regime, and supporters of Reza Pahlavi II, whose father ruled Iran in the 1970s, who want to see the younger Pahlavi cede power in Iran and deeply oppose the NCRI. Rajavi will call for the implementation of United Nations snapback sanctions that were eased under the 2015 nuclear deal, putting the regime under the Chapter VII charter of the U.N. as a threat to peace and formally recognizing the resistance’s movement for regime change. She will also pay tribute to two resistance leaders, Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani, who have been sentenced to death on charges of “rebellion” and for being members of the MEK. The U.N. has called on Iran to halt their executions. The regime has executed 120,000 on political grounds over the past four decades, according to Rajavi. The hearings come after the Trump administration pushed forward with its promise to return the U.S. to “maximum pressure” sanctions with new crackdowns on Iranian oil tankers. Trump has said he would “love to make a deal” with the nation’s clerical leaders, but Iran has insisted it will not engage in nuclear negotiations while the U.S. is imposing maximum pressure. “Iran’s position regarding nuclear talks is clear, and we will not negotiate under pressure and sanctions,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said during a televised joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. “There is no possibility of direct negotiations with the U.S. as long as maximum pressure is being applied in this way.”
‘Back in the driver’s seat’: Parents offered new guide to Trump’s executive orders and how they affect kids
FIRST ON FOX: President Donald Trump has issued 73 executive orders since his return to the Oval Office in January, including at least six that directly affect parents and their children, according to a parental rights group that released a parent’s guide to navigating the executive orders. “President Trump’s Executive Orders have put parents back in the driver’s seat,” American Parents Coalition’s Executive Director Alleigh Marré told Fox News Digital. “From rolling back President Biden’s radical changes to Title IX that required schools to let boys play in girls sports, to protecting kids from harmful gender interventions, parents are already better positioned to make decisions regarding the well-being of their children than they were just a month ago.” The coalition released a “lookout” parental notification system Wednesday that detailed six different executive orders that “enable parents to choose what is best for their children and to better protect kids.” The lookout works as a guide to parents navigating the executive orders, including offering tips on how parents can keep up with the breakneck pace of the Trump administration’s executive orders, and working their way through Congress and at the state level. TRUMP SIGNS ‘NO MEN IN WOMEN’S SPORTS’ EXECUTIVE ORDER The American Parents Coalition was established in 2024 to advocate for public policy favorable toward parental rights. “In this Lookout, American Parents Coalition seeks to keep parents informed and provide tips to stay in the loop about future changes made by the Trump Administration, Congress, and state legislatures,” Marré added in comment to Fox Digital. The parental notification system focused on six Trump executive orders, providing an explainer for each and what the order actually means for parents. The six orders include: Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports; Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling; Expanding Educational Freedom and Opportunity for Families; Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation; Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal; Ending the Weaponization of the Federal Government. PARENTS SHOULD BE TERRIFIED BY TIKTOK’S DANGEROUS INFLUENCE OVER OUR KIDS For the executive order protecting children from chemical mutilation, for example, the coalition explained that it “ensures parents, not activists, make medical decisions for their children and protects children from irreversible procedures until they reach adulthood.” “Although there is more work to be done at the state level, parents can now feel reassured that schools, healthcare providers, and government programs will not bypass them in pushing gender transition interventions on their children,” the lookout report continues. Trump’s bevy of executive orders related to transgender issues and children were long previewed on the campaign trail, as the then-candidate vowed that he would ban biological males from women’s sports and ban gender surgery procedures for children. MILLION-DOLLAR TV AD CAMPAIGN ACCUSES TIKTOK OF EXPOSING YOUNG PEOPLE CONTENT GLORIFYING SUICIDE, SELF-HARM “On Day One, I will revoke Joe Biden’s cruel policies on so-called ‘gender affirming care’ — ridiculous — a process that includes giving kids puberty blockers, mutating their physical appearance, and ultimately performing surgery on minor children. Can you believe this?” Trump said in a campaign video in 2023 of his plan to “protect children from left-wing gender insanity.” TRUMP EXECUTIVE ORDER ON PROTECTING WOMEN’S SPORTS DRAWS RESPONSE FROM NCAA Outside of executive orders that directly address children and parents, Trump also signed an executive order that ends the weaponization of the federal government, including preventing agencies from targeting people based on their political beliefs. “Parents can advocate for their children’s education and rights without fear of government retaliation for speaking out,” the lookout explained of how the order impacts parents. “Some parents critical of far-Left educational policies such as teaching (critical race theory), transgender bathrooms and sport policies have been ridiculed and even investigated by the FBI. This order is a win for free speech and puts parents into the driver’s seat of their children’s lives.”
Victim’s family ‘confident’ Oklahoma’s Richard Glossip will be convicted after Supreme Court orders new trial
The family of murdered Oklahoma City motel owner Barry Van Treese told Fox News Digital they are “confident” Richard Glossip will once again be found guilty after the Supreme Court tossed out his conviction and ordered a new trial. Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in a majority opinion Tuesday that “the prosecution violated its constitutional obligation to correct false testimony” in court proceedings against Glossip, who was convicted and sentenced to death following the 1997 killing. Prosecutors alleged that it was a murder-for-hire scheme. “The family remains confident that when that new trial is held, the jury will return the same verdict as in the first two trials: guilty of first-degree murder,” Derek Van Treese, Barry’s son, said in a statement to Fox News Digital provided by the family’s lawyer, Paul Cassell. “The burning issue here is of process and procedure. The U.S. Supreme Court has concluded that one small bit of impeachment evidence should have been presented at Glossip’s trial and has remanded for a new trial,” he continued. “Two juries have shown that the issue at hand isn’t one of guilt or innocence, Glossip is clearly guilty of first-degree murder.” SUPREME COURT TOSSES CONVICTION AND DEATH SENTENCE OF OKLAHOMA INMATE, ORDERS NEW TRIAL Derek Van Treese added that “For the last 10,276 days, we’ve been waiting for justice for the murder of Barry Van Treese.” “As difficult as it may be to start fresh on a 28-year-old case, I hope that the Attorney General and the Oklahoma County District Attorney’s office can begin to show the perseverance that our family has shown throughout this process,” he also said. “We pray that they exhibit the fortitude to take politics out of the equation and process this case as it is, a death penalty case, and not take the easy road of a lesser charge. If they find themselves unable to shoulder the burden, they should recuse themselves and allow someone with the aptitude and skill necessary to prosecute this case so it can finally be laid to rest, once and for all.” SOUTH CAROLINA DEATH ROW INMATE CHOOSES FIRING SQUAD AS EXECUTION METHOD Don Knight, Glossip’s attorney, told the Associated Press that the Supreme Court’s ruling “was a victory for justice and fairness in our judicial system.” “Rich and I opened the decision together on the phone this morning, knowing it would be a life-changing moment,” his wife said in a text message to the AP following the Supreme Court’s announcement. “To say that we are overcome with emotion is an understatement. We are deeply grateful. Today is truly an answered prayer.” Glossip, 62, is currently being held at the maximum-security Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, according to the AP. Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond was quoted by the news agency as saying that Glossip will remain in custody, and he will now consult with the Oklahoma County district attorney over whether to try Glossip again and if the state should seek the death penalty or lesser charges. “I do not believe Richard Glossip is innocent,” Drummond reportedly added, noting that “I have conferred with several members of the Van Treese family and given them my heartfelt sadness for where they are, where they find themselves.” Fox News’ Bill Mears contributed to this report.
Fat Joe praises Trump healthcare executive order after backing Harris in 2024
Rapper Fat Joe, who backed then-Vice President Kamala Harris for president last year, hailed President Donald Trump’s move to sign an executive order on healthcare price transparency. But in his statement about the order, the entertainer did not specifically mention Trump by name. “Today marks a brighter future in America now that an executive order on healthcare price transparency has been signed,” Fat Joe declared in Tuesday posts on social media. TRUMP SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDER TO MAKE HEALTHCARE PRICES ‘TRANSPARENT’ “This issue was never about politics for me, it was about doing the right thing for every patient, worker, employer, and union across the country. The American healthcare system had been robbing all of us by hiding their prices and charging whatever they wanted. It was un-American and unethical. Now, we can celebrate this huge victory and a big thank you to @PowertoPatnts and all that supported” Trump’s order seeks to bolster an order he previously issued during his first term. CHRIS ‘MAD DOG’ RUSSO RIPS ‘NONSENSE’ ICE CUBE, FAT JOE WORLD SERIES PERFORMANCES: ‘GIVE ME A BASEBALL GAME!’ “Pursuant to Executive Order 13877 of June 24, 2019 (Improving Price and Quality Transparency in American Healthcare to Put Patients First), my Administration issued paradigm-shifting regulations to put patients first by requiring hospitals and health plans to deliver meaningful price information to the American people,” Trump’s new order declares. He asserted that former President Joe Biden’s “Administration failed to take sufficient steps to fully enforce my Administration’s requirement that would end the opaque nature of drug prices by ensuring health plans publicly post the true prices they pay for prescription drugs.” The order calls for the Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services secretaries to seek to swiftly “implement and enforce the healthcare price transparency regulations issued pursuant to Executive Order 13877 …” 5 MISTAKES THAT DOOMED KAMALA HARRIS’ CAMPAIGN AGAINST TRUMP CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Trump’s Labor Secretary pick, former Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, has not yet been confirmed by the Senate.
DOGE-inspired bipartisan bill seeks payment transparency to ‘clean up Washington’
EXCLUSIVE: Sens. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., and Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., introduced a bill Wednesday that would require the annual presidential budget to include data on improper payments to federal agencies, taking a page out of Elon Musk‘s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) playbook. “When federal agencies waste money, it means less money for essential services, national defense or deficit reduction,” Ricketts, a member of the Senate DOGE Caucus, said. “Transparency brings accountability. My bipartisan bill will highlight where money is being misspent so we can combat waste and save taxpayer dollars.” The Improper Payments Transparency Act would require the president’s annual budget request to include data on improper payments, which are defined under U.S. law as payments that should not have been made or were made in an incorrect amount. The act would require a description of the program on an improper payment report, including an explanation of why the improper payment occurred, data on improper payment trends and a corrective action plan agencies will take to limit improper payments. NEW DOGE BILL WOULD TARGET MORE THAN $200B IN ANNUAL IMPROPER PAYMENTS FROM SAFETY NETS, LAWMAKER SAYS “We owe it to the hardworking people of Nevada to make sure that the federal government is using their tax dollars efficiently and responsibly. Our bipartisan legislation will help to increase transparency and cut down on wasteful government spending. I’ll keep working to clean up Washington and look after American taxpayers’ hard-earned money,” Rosen added. HOUSE DOGE HEARING ERUPTS OVER DEMOCRAT DEEMING TRUMP ‘GRIFTER IN CHIEF,’ REFERRING TO ‘PRESIDENT MUSK’ About $2.8 trillion in improper payments have been made since 2003, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) estimates, with about $236 billion in improper payments in Fiscal Year 2023 and $161.6 billion in improper payments in Fiscal Year 2024. The GAO found in Fiscal Year 2023 that 10 of 24 executive branch agencies required to report improper payments did not fully comply, so the cost of improper payments could be much higher. The Improper Payments Transparency Act was named one of the top bipartisan bills for taxpayers on the National Taxpayers Union’s 2024 “No Brainers” List. While Republicans have been following Musk’s lead on DOGE initiatives to cut wasteful government funding, Democrats have been calling for more transparency from President Donald Trump‘s administration. Ricketts and Rosen’s bipartisan bill, which is independent of DOGE, could be an opportunity for senators to come together on the issue. Another DOGE-inspired bill was introduced on the House side on Monday. Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Pa., is sponsoring the Payment Integrity Information Reform Act (PIIA) to target overpayments by the federal government. The bill seeks to improve payment integrity laws and target overpayments for social safety net programs. Meanwhile, the Senate DOGE Caucus was established in November 2024 by Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa., “to identify and eliminate government waste.” The Senate DOGE Caucus is working closely with Musk’s DOGE to promote fiscal responsibility and reduce wasteful federal spending. Congress also established the Delivering Outstanding Government Efficiency Caucus in the same month to support DOGE through legislative action. Additionally, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., leads the Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency for oversight on government efficiency efforts. Trump signed an executive order establishing the DOGE on Inauguration Day, directing Musk to lead the federal government’s efforts “to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity.” The Trump administration has since directed government agencies to comply with DOGE’s departmental investigations. DOGE’s audits have led to mass layoffs and departures from the federal workforce and slashed federal programs to uncover billions of dollars in savings. Many Democrats have protested Trump’s executive actions as Republicans have typically embraced the federal shake-up.
Class 10 student gives birth hours after board examination, probe underway
In a shocking turn of events, a class 10 student gave birth to a baby boy on Monday evening, i.e., February 24, hours after she took her board examination in Odisha’s Malkangiri district.
First measles death reported in West Texas outbreak
More than 120 people across nine counties have been infected during the largest Texas outbreak in 30 years.
Biden DOJ weaponized FACE Act to imprison pro-life activists, attorney tells House: ‘Systematic campaign’
A pro-life attorney alleged during a House hearing that the Biden administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ) led a “systematic campaign” against pro-life protesters who were charged with violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act and sentenced to several years in prison in 2020. Peter Breen, the executive vice president and head of litigation at the Christian nonprofit law firm Thomas More Society, testified before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Oversight on Tuesday about the Biden administration’s prosecution of 23 pro-life protesters, many of whom were part of a large-scale Washington, D.C., abortion clinic blockade. President Donald Trump pardoned all the activists in one of his first executive actions in January. “The Biden DOJ engaged in a systematic campaign to abuse the power of the federal government against pro-life advocates, while that same DOJ ignored hundreds of acts of vandalism and violence against pro-life churches, pregnancy help centers, and other advocates,” Breen said. PRO-LIFE ACTIVIST PROSECUTED BY BIDEN DOJ REACTS TO TRUMP PARDON: ‘I WANT TO GIVE HIM A HUG’ The hearing, titled, “Entering the Golden Age: Ending the Weaponization of the Justice Department,” included testimonies from Chris Swecker, former FBI assistant director of the Criminal Investigations Unit, Jonathan Fahey, a legal partner at Holtzman Vogel, and Brendan Ballou, a federal prosecutor. The Thomas More Society represented several of the 23 pro-life activists who were imprisoned during the 2020 demonstrations and urged Trump during his first few days in office to pardon them. “They should not have been prosecuted,” Trump said during the signing. “Many of them are elderly people. They should not have been prosecuted. This is a great honor to sign this.” Breen said the Trump administration’s pardons sent a “powerful message.” “On behalf of our clients and the pro-life movement as whole, we are thankful to President Trump for his recent pardons and to the members of this House who supported that effort,” he said. “Those pardons sent a powerful message to the country, and especially to the millions of Americans in the pro-life movement, that the federal government should not be weaponized against Americans because of their sincere beliefs in the sanctity of human life.” PRO-LIFE ACTIVISTS FOUND GUILTY ON CONSPIRACY CHARGES FOR 2020 ‘RESCUE ACTION’ AT DC CLINIC Prosecutors from the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. attorney’s office for the District of Columbia argued the pro-life activists violated the 1994 FACE Act, a federal law that prohibits physical force, threats of force or intentionally damaging property to prevent someone from obtaining or providing abortion services. “Evidence presented at trial established that the defendants used force and physical obstruction to execute a clinic blockade that was organized by the group’s leaders,” the Biden DOJ wrote in its announcement of several indictments. “The defendants’ forced entry into the clinic at the outset of the invasion resulted in injury to a clinic nurse. During the blockade, one patient had to climb through a receptionist window to access the clinic, while another laid in the hallway outside of the clinic in physical distress, unable to gain access to the clinic.” However, the FACE Act is now a target of the pro-life movement, as opponents of the law say it infringes on the First Amendment, restricts the freedom to protest and unfairly targets anti-abortion activists. “Of course, we urge Congress to repeal the FACE Act, which is selectively and illegally enforced by pro-abortion presidential administrations,” Breen said. “But in the immediate term, Congress has several other concrete steps it can take, working with the new Administration to define the proper scope of the laws and to defend the rights of pro-life Americans.” PRO-LIFE PROTESTERS PARDONED BY TRUMP, FOX CONFIRMS House members and witnesses also spent much of the two-hour hearing discussing a Richmond FBI internal 2023 memo titled, “Interest of Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists in Radical-Traditionalist Catholic Ideology Almost Certainly Presents New Mitigation Opportunities.” Fox News Digital has reached out to the DOJ for comment.
Trump admin to direct agency heads to prep for ‘large-scale reductions in force,’ reorganization by March 13
FIRST ON FOX: The Trump administration will direct heads of agencies across the federal government to prepare to initiate “large-scale reductions in force” and develop reorganization plans by mid-March, Fox News Digital has learned. Fox News Digital exclusively obtained the memo that will be sent Wednesday to agency heads by Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought and acting director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Charles Ezell. The memo directs them to prepare to eliminate roles and submit plans for reorganization by March 13. TRUMP SIGNS ORDER INSTRUCTING DOGE TO MASSIVELY CUT FEDERAL WORKFORCE The memo states, however, that government positions “necessary to meet law enforcement, border security, national security, immigration enforcement, or public safety responsibilities” are exempt from the order, as well as officials nominated and appointed to positions requiring presidential appointment or Senate confirmation, officials in the Executive Office of the President, and U.S. Postal Service workers. The memo is titled “guidance on agency RIF and reorganization plans requested by implementing the president’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ workforce optimization initiative.” “The federal government is costly, inefficient, and deeply in debt,” the memo states. “At the same time, it is not producing results for the American public.” “Instead, tax dollars are being siphoned off to fund unproductive and unnecessary programs that benefit radical interest groups while hurting hard-working American citizens,” it continued. “The American people registered their verdict on the bloated, corrupt federal bureaucracy on November 5, 2024 by voting for President Trump and his promises to sweepingly reform the federal government.” The memo points to the president’s February executive order, which directed agencies to “eliminate waste, bloat and insularity” in order to “empower American families, workers, taxpayers, and our system of Government itself.” The memo provides guidance to agency heads for the reduction-in-force and reorganization plans, along with instructions for how those plans should be submitted to OMB and OPM. “President Trump required that ‘Agency Heads shall promptly undertake preparations to initiate large-scale reductions in force, consistent with applicable law,’” the memo states, noting that agencies have to submit reorganization plans “no later than March 13, 2025.” The reorganization plans, according to the memo, should provide “better service for the American people; increased productivity; a significant reduction in the number of full-time equivalent positions by eliminating positions that are not required; a reduced real property footprint; and reduced budget topline.” IRS TO SLASH NEARLY 7K EMPLOYEES STARTING THURSDAY: REPORTS OMB and OPM directed agency heads to focus on “maximum elimination of functions that are not statutorily mandated while driving the highest-quality, most efficient delivery of their statutorily-required functions.” OMB and OPM also directed agencies to consolidate areas of their organization charts that are “duplicative,” and consolidate management layers “where unnecessary layers exist.” They also are directing agencies to “maximally reduce the use of outside consultants and contractors.” As for office space, the memo says agency heads should close or consolidate regional field offices and should align those closures or relocations of bureaus and offices with agency return-to-office actions “to avoid multiple relocation benefit costs for individual employees.” The memo says “Phase 1” of reorganization plans should be submitted by March 13, with “Phase 2” being submitted by April 14. “Phase 2 plans shall outline a positive vision for more productive, efficient agency operations going forward,” the memo explains. “Phase 2 plans should be planned for implementation by September 30, 2025.”