By Gregory Korte, Bloomberg Information
WASHINGTON — The White Home nonetheless employs 45 staffers for Elon Musk’s Division of Authorities Effectivity regardless of the Tesla Inc. CEO’s departure in Might — they usually’re exempt from being furloughed throughout the federal government shutdown.
The association was revealed in a memo launched Thursday from the White Home Workplace of Administration detailing the staffing plan whereas funding from Congress stays in limbo.
The White Home shutdown plan additionally highlights a sample of shifting definitions of important and non-essential staff below President Donald Trump, who has furloughed 514 fewer White Home staffers than he did over the past authorities shutdown below his watch in 2018.
Beneath the sooner plan, which former President Joe Biden additionally adopted however by no means needed to implement, about 61% of workers within the Government Workplace of the President had been quickly laid off. The present plan furloughs solely 32% of the workers.
Regardless of preserving extra of the White Home workers on-the-job in the course of the shutdown, Trump has stated he’s seeking to lay off federal staff, as a substitute of simply furloughing them. The White Home has stated the cuts may quantity within the “1000’s.”
Among the many places of work totally open regardless of the shutdown is DOGE, the federal government cost-cutting operation as soon as led by Musk earlier than he and Trump had a falling out over the president’s assist of a deficit-expanding tax reduce invoice.
After Musk’s departure in Might, the White Home stated DOGE had been decentralized, and that its groups all through the federal government would report back to their presidentially appointed company heads. However the shutdown plan reveals that 45 DOGE staffers nonetheless work within the US DOGE Service, a element inside the Government Workplace of the President.
The memo from Joshua Fisher, the director of the White Home Workplace of Administration, didn’t clarify why the DOGE staffers had been exempt from furloughs. However DOGE’s predecessor workplace, the US Digital Service, was in a position to operate via earlier shutdowns as a result of it had a separate supply of funding from charges it charged different authorities companies for its work.
Different components of the White Home are additionally seeing fewer furloughs this time. The Workplace of Administration and Funds retains 437 workers on responsibility, in contrast with 161 below the 2018 plan. The tax reduce legislation — dubbed the One Massive Stunning Invoice — supplied $100 million in long-term funding for the price range workplace.
The White Home Workplace itself — the president’s fast workers — holds on to 175 aides, barely greater than the 156 within the final shutdown. And Trump has nearly doubled the variety of retained staff within the govt residence to 40.
On the identical time, Trump officers have signaled they’ll use the lapse in funding to pare again or shutter packages they oppose — particularly in states that voted for his opponent final yr. And the White Home has threatened to completely fireplace 1000’s of federal workers within the coming days, citing the shortage of congressional funding.
The White Home press workplace didn’t reply to a request for touch upon the shutdown plan, however as a substitute despatched an automatic out-of-office reply echoing the administration’s political speaking factors.
“As a consequence of workers shortages ensuing from the Democrat Shutdown, the everyday 24/7 monitoring of this press inbox might expertise delays,” the message stated. “Thanks on your consideration to this matter.”
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