Trump Administration Orders Federal Agencies to Identify ‘Poor Performers’ for Immediate Termination

Federal employees were put on notice Thursday as the Trump administration escalated its efforts to reshape the federal workforce, warning that workers with less-than-stellar performance reviews could face immediate termination.

According to Bloomberg, the administration is shifting its strategy from voluntary buyouts to targeting underperforming employees, reinforcing its aggressive push to overhaul government operations. The move is part of a broader effort led by President Donald Trump and his close ally, Department of Government Efficiency chief Elon Musk, to streamline—and, critics say, politicize—the federal workforce.

So far, the administration’s buyout program has seen over 50,000 federal employees voluntarily resign. However, that number represents only a fraction of the more than 2 million workers employed by the U.S. government. Now, with buyouts slowing, the White House is taking a more forceful approach.

A new memo issued by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) instructs federal agencies to compile lists of their “poorest performing employees” by March 7. The administration plans to use this information to carry out terminations on a massive scale, signaling what Bloomberg described as a “tougher posture.”

The directive, written by OPM Acting Director Charles Ezell, requires agencies to report “all employees who received less than a ‘fully successful’ performance rating in the past three years.” “OPM is developing new performance metrics for evaluating the federal workforce that aligns with the priorities and standards in the President’s recent Executive Orders,” Ezell wrote.

The administration’s stance on government employment has already sparked controversy, particularly regarding its dismantling of diversity programs and efforts to reclassify thousands of positions as political appointments—making it easier to replace career employees with ideological loyalists.

The latest directive is part of a series of executive orders signed by Trump aimed at reshaping the federal government. Critics argue that these measures threaten the integrity of public service, allowing the administration to purge employees it deems politically undesirable.

Trump has previously made clear his disdain for career federal workers, often referring to the so-called “deep state” as an obstacle to his policies. His administration has already begun eliminating diversity and inclusion initiatives and has warned federal employees against resisting his directives.

As the March 7 deadline approaches, federal agencies now face mounting pressure to comply with the administration’s mandate—or risk being swept up in the next wave of terminations. Whether this effort will lead to greater government efficiency or simply serve as a mechanism for political retribution remains a matter of heated debate.