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As Defense preps for mass firings, Hegseth says a hiring freeze and more firings are coming

The Pentagon courtyard in April 2024. U.S. ARMY / BERNARDO FULLER

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Updated: Feb. 20, 9:55 p.m. ET.

The Defense Department is preparing for mass firings of civilian employees, according to several current employees and internal communications, bringing the Trump administration’s federal-workforce-reduction efforts to the government’s largest agency. The dismissals are expected to begin as soon as Friday, according to multiple employees informed of the plans.

In a video posted to social media late on Thursday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that the department was doing a “reevaluation of our probationary workforce” in compliance with the Office of Personnel Management’s Jan. 20 directive.

Hegseth added that this would be just the start of a more comprehensive “really thorough look at our workforce top to bottom, and it will be top to bottom, to see where we can find and eliminate redundancies. Now common sense would tell us where we should start, right? We start with poor performers amongst our probationary employees because that is common sense and you want the best and brightest.”

The secretary also said that he would soon impose a department-wide hiring freeze and “take more time to identify, on a performance-based standard, who we’re going to hire, and reward hardworking employees who are central to the core warfighting mission. So we’re going to take a little bit more time, make sure top to bottom we’re doing a review, those who we need, who are the best and brightest are going to stay. Those who are underperformers won’t.”

He gave no timeframe for these moves. He also did not say how they might comport with laws that give hiring preference to veterans and offer broad protections to career federal employees.

After the department was largely exempted from President Trump’s federal hiring freeze, much of its civilian workforce had expected it would again be carved out from the mandate to fire probationary employees—generally speaking, that means workers hired or promoted within the past year. The administration gave word this week, however, that it expected the Pentagon to cut its own workforce.

On Thursday, commands and agencies across Defense continued to compile lists of probationary employees, including ones that are to be exempted from firing. Some employees have been told to expect few exemptions within their commands or teams, while others reported their leaders were pushing for more.

A warning email

Members of the White House’s DOGE office made their first Pentagon visit last Friday, according to a social-media post. That same day, an official in the Pentagon’s policy shop sent a warning email to staff.

“The news on probationary employees is very concerning – to the individuals, their offices, and our organization overall,” the official wrote. “If someone in Policy is in a probationary status, it’s because Policy went through a great deal of effort to bring them onboard to fill critical roles in our support to the Secretary of Defense, and those individuals are making important contributions to our mission.”

Probationary employees are an easy target for staff reductions, as it becomes much harder to fire a federal employee without substantial cause once they have completed their first year of service.

Orders to get moving

The situation developed rapidly this week and supervisors, employees and human resources staff scrambled to share pertinent information.

One Defense Information Systems Agency employee said their leadership team was notified Monday evening that they must move ahead with identifying and, eventually, firing probationary employees. DISA leaders were seeking to “limit the damage” by exempting at least some employees based on mission needs, but no final decisions had been made as of Tuesday afternoon, the employee said.

On Wednesday, leaders of a component of the Air Force Material Command told employees that they were working with the Air Force to “clarify who specifically by-name might be affected and to ensure we thoughtfully implement any direction that formalizes.”

“Currently, we have no specific details about which positions might be affected, the timeline, or means for any potential actions,” the leadership team said in a message to staff.

The message said that employees should update and save their resumes, download their performance reviews, and retain copies of their personal records and certifications. Employees were also advised to save their supervisors’ contact information.

“We understand this news is concerning,” the message said. “We are committed to keeping you informed and providing support throughout this process.”

Army commands have received the same guidance, according to a source who spoke with Defense One. Another source said Space Force organizations were told to submit their lists on Wednesday afternoon.

On Thursday, Army Medical Command leaders told their staff via an email that they could be affected, although the command’s leaders “have not yet received specific details regarding how this will be implemented.”

“Thank you for your professionalism and unwavering commitment to Army Medicine,” the email said. “As we navigate these changes together, we will continue to share updates as soon as they become available.”

An Army Medical Command employee who provides care to active-duty personnel, dependents, and retirees said their name was included in a list of probationary employees sent up the chain of command. Initially, the employee had been told their position was safe from cuts, but “the mood has definitely shifted and all of that ‘no way it’ll happen to you’ is gone now.”

One Navy employee who joined their command’s all-hands meeting on Thursday said they were told to expect the termination notices to hit inboxes as soon as that evening. Another Navy civilian was told in a similar all-hands meeting that firings would commence Friday morning.

“HR has been telling us to download all of our documents and prepare to be terminated,” the second Navy employee said.

On one Air Force command-wide call, a lieutenant general broke down crying as she relayed the news about upcoming firings, according to an employee present on the call. That employee was told by management the firings would “come hard and fast,” and in a matter of days rather than a week.

Elsewhere, leaders of a Navy agency, the name of which Defense One is withholding to protect against reprisals, sent their staff a message in which they said they were reviewing a list of 700 probationary employees to pick 29 to exempt. The message said the agency’s list noted veterans, military spouses, and members of other favored hiring groups.

“I want to ensure you that we are working with the highest levels of Navy leadership to ensure [we retain] the largest number possible of our talented people,” the message reads. “While we wait for further guidance, let’s please all do our best to support each other during this challenging time.”

As employees reported that morale has tanked as a result of the news this week, leaders attempted to reassure employees of their value.

“Please know that your contributions are invaluable, and our mission remains critical,” the Army Medical Command leaders said in their email. “We are truly grateful for your dedication, resilience, and continued service.”

One DOD civilian told Defense One that employees are cleaning out their workspaces in anticipation of firing, having heard from other federal agencies that fired employees were not given time to gather their belongings.

The White House has released no comprehensive tally of workers fired. So far, as many as 10,000 have been fired at the Agriculture, Commerce, Energy, Veterans Affairs, and other departments, as well as at the Environmental Protection Agency, OPM, and DOGE—formerly known as the U.S. Digital Service—itself.

OPM data shows that the federal government hired more than 200,000 employees over the past year.

Audrey Decker contributed to this report.

Do you work in the national-security sphere? Tell us how these efforts are affecting you. Contact Meghann Myers ( mmyers@defenseone.com; Signal: meghann.myers55), Eric Katz (ekatz@govexec.com; Signal: erickatz.28), or Audrey Decker (adecker@defenseone.com, Signal: adecker.59).

NEXT STORY: Hegseth seeks to shift $50 billion in FY26 budget proposal

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks to reporters after a NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels on February 13, 2025. SIMON WOHLFAHRT/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has directed Pentagon officials to find about $50 billion in the Biden administration’s fiscal 2026 budget proposal that can be redirected to new priorities, according to a late-Wednesday statement by his acting deputy.

Funds should be moved from “so-called ‘climate change’ and other woke programs” and “excessive bureaucracy” to Trump-administration priorities, such as securing the border, building an “Iron Dome” for the United States, and ending DEI programs, acting deputy defense secretary Robert Salesses said in the statement..

“The department will develop a list of potential offsets that could be used to fund these priorities, as well as to refocus the department on its core mission of deterring and winning wars. The offsets are targeted at 8% of the Biden Administration’s FY-26 budget, totaling around $50 billion, which will then be spent on programs aligned with President Trump’s priorities,” Salesses said in the statement.

The fiscal 2025 Defense Authorization Act, passed in December, adhered to the Biden administration’s topline request of $849.9 billion for the Pentagon. Negotiations on the appropriations bill are still ongoing, more than five months into the fiscal year. In November, the administration’s fiscal 2026 proposal was expected to be around $876.8 billion, although then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin recommended boosting it to $926.5 billion.

Salesses’ statement follows recent reporting by the Washington Post that Hegseth ordered Pentagon leaders to cut 8 percent from the defense budget in each of the next five years. However, the new statement seems to paint a different picture, clarifying that they will merely move money around, rather than cut the funding completely, and does not confirm the Post’s reporting regarding the five-year timeline.

While it’s common for new administrations to adjust the budget proposals of their predecessors, an 8-percent shift is more than usual.

No date has yet been announced for sending the revamped budget proposal to Congress, which usually occurs in February except in the first year of a new administration, when it often arrives a month or more later.

Bloomberg first reported the shift in funding.

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SecDef says a “reevaluation of our probationary workforce” will be followed by wider dismissal of “redundancies” and “underperformers.”

Money for “so-called ‘climate change’ and other woke programs” would move to Trump priorities.

Pentagon is next in DOGE layoff sights as probationary hires are tallied

WASHINGTON − The Defense Department has sent lists of its probationary employees to the Trump administration, according to a senior official, as the Pentagon braces for layoffs that have rocked other parts of the federal government in recent weeks.

It’s not clear how many employees would be cut from the Pentagon’s ranks. NPR reported one circulating memo called for an 8% cut to the department.

The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to confirm reports that the lists were submitted. The Office of Personnel Management did not respond to a request for comment.

One probationary Army employee said tensions were running high after he and his team were warned that military leadership had to justify “certain positions to keep staff in place.” The employee asked to remain anonymous out of fear of retaliation.

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“It’s just the anxiety of waiting for the shoe to drop,” said an employee at a Marine base who is not in the probationary period, but works with one person who is.

“This will be detrimental to areas that rely on military bases for employment,” she said.

“We welcome DOGE to the Pentagon,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said last week, referring to the Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk’s government slashing task force. “There is waste, redundancies, and headcounts at headquarters that need to be addressed,” he added.

On Friday, DOGE said on X that it had a “great kickoff” at the Defense Department.

“Looking forward to working together to safely save taxpayer dollars and eliminate waste, fraud and abuse.” Hegseth responded on Tuesday, writing, “Let’s get to work. DOGE the waste; Double-Down on warriors.”

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Throughout the federal workforce, the Trump administration has spared some employees who could prove their jobs are national security from getting the sack.

Late last week, employees at the National Nuclear Security Administration received layoff letters that were rescinded hours later, fueling speculation that DOGE backtracked after realizing the key role the workers played in maintaining the U.S. nuclear stockpile.

With 3.4 million military and civilian workers and a yearly budget of nearly $850 billion, the Defense Department is the largest in the federal government.