Elon Musk’s visit to the Oval Office on Tuesday was no simple courtesy call, a new executive order setting strict guidelines on how federal agencies may hire new staff suggests. The far-reaching mandate puts a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) “team lead” at the apex of every federal agency and sets a cap on hiring only one new government worker for every four who depart in what policy analysts are calling a substantial expansion of DOGE’s powers.

“By eliminating waste, bloat, and insularity, my Administration will empower American families, workers, taxpayers, and our system of Government itself,” President Donald Trump wrote in the order’s statement of purpose.

Building on a hiring freeze President Trump issued on his first day in office last month, the new executive order instructs the Office of Management and Budget to craft broad-reaching agency reorganization plans within 30 days. For DOGE, Trump set a nine-month deadline to report back on its results in implementing the Workforce Optimization Initiative.

“Reducing the unnecessary footprint of government,” is a motivating principle for this initiative, and the administration’s overall approach, a White House fact sheet about the order stressed.

“No one knows how many federal agencies exist, but the Federal Register lists over 400,” the White House explainer stated.

Military, national security staff, public safety agencies and the postal service are exempted from Tuesday’s directive.

“We are going to try to sort of right-size the federal bureaucracy,” DOGE chief Elon Musk said at the joint appearance.

Judges in federal courts have already issued temporary injunctions on previous efforts by the Trump administration to freeze federal spending, offer buy-outs to bureaucrats to retire or resign early, access the Treasury Department’s payment system and dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development in a slew of over 30 lawsuits.

Tuesday’s order suggests the White House is doubling down, rather than scaling back, its ambitions to dramatically reform the size and scope of the federal government.

Lawmakers representing the Beltway in particular were quick to react.

“This unprecedented assault on the federal workforce and the services they provide to the American people will not go unanswered,” House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Ranking Member Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) said in a statement. “We are going to fight every way we can: in the courts, in public opinion, with the bully pulpit, in the halls of Congress, and in every community across this country. We are not going to let this injustice happen.”

Not everyone in Congress agrees though. When asked about DOGE’s approach last week, U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) told Semafor:

“There’s a lot of disruption, but I would argue that that disruption was needed to be able to go in and scrutinize the record, scrutinize expenditures to fully understand what’s going on.”

This is a continuing story and the Maine Wire will provide ongoing updates about this and related initiatives.