LawFare – Trump seeks to reduce the size of the federal workforce using a complicated and arcane process. “…In an executive order titled “Implementing the President’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ Workforce Optimization Initiative,” Trump outlined two additional mechanisms by which he will seek to reduce federal employment. The order is sweeping, and its definition of “agency” suggests that it will apply to both executive departments and independent agencies. The order, however, excludes positions related to public safety, immigration enforcement, or law enforcement…How many employees might be laid off as a consequence of this order? One estimate puts the number at more than 700,000 individuals. This estimate comes from the fact that the order instructs agencies to separate employees “not typically designated as essential during a lapse in appropriations as provided in the Agency Contingency Plans.” The contingency plans provide a rough estimate of the number of employees targeted by the order. The contingency plans also reveal that the effects of the order will vary from agency to agency. For example, the Department of Justice classifies about 84 percent of its employees as essential. By contrast, the Department of Commerce classifies only about 16 percent of its employees as essential. The meaning of “essential,” however, is subject to political jockeying. Nevertheless, even a small reduction in an agency’s workforce may significantly disrupt the agency’s programs and services…”