United States: Established as the federal human resources agency to direct billionaire White House adviser Elon Musk’s efforts at federal workforce reduction, the Office of Personnel Management has now decided on its first career employee hire after Donald Trump became president, according to internal emails viewed by Reuters.
The agency’s Office of Personnel Management will get its first new driver to transport its leaders since President Trump took office as indicated in the available emails.
Hiring Freeze Lifted for Leadership Transport
In mid-March both OPM’s acting director Chuck Ezell authorized the removal of a federal hiring ban on drivers to hire replacement transport for OPM agency leadership.
Professor Kathleen Clark from Washington University in St. Louis points out that the undisclosed decision reveals the Department of Government Efficiency under Musk’s leadership failed to improve government efficiency.
US agency leading Musk's firing spree authorizes first Trump hire – a driver for agency heads – https://t.co/w5Ln6HH1yv
— Heather Timmons (@HeathaT) March 31, 2025
“It is becoming increasingly obvious that Musk’s & DOGE’s mission has absolutely nothing to do with efficiency, and instead is aimed at enabling Musk to use – and abuse – power within the federal government,” she said.
“Authorizing a Musk-controlled agency like OPM to hire a driver while slashing essential federal workers who actually help Americans in need is a good example.”
The officials from the White House, DOGE, Musk, and Ezell failed to respond when they requested a comment. The OPM spokesperson declared through a statement the agency maintains continuous security concerns that justify requiring a driver but omitted specific details. According to an interview with byFaith last month Ezell received multiple death threats while he served as the electronic bitcoin dog. The publication describes itself as the Magazine of the Presbyterian Church in America.
Trump established DOGE under his first presidential action so the team could discover wastefulness, address spending cuts, and eliminate workers who lacked performance or loyalty or were unneeded.
The president declares his “very proud” stance toward the essential program which stops unnecessary spending runoff.
Sweeping Workforce Reductions Under DOGE
Official records indicate that DOGE focuses primarily on achieving longstanding Republican administration targets through its agency shutdown agenda that involves terminating USAID and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Efficiency or Power Play?
The administration declared severe budget reductions for essential social service branches including Veterans Affairs for veteran healthcare and Social Security Administration for social security payments.
Two sources knowledgeable about the situation reported that OPM has released more than 200 employees since Trump became president and has permitted more than 400 employees to agree to voluntary departure packages.