Committee Democrats Tell OPM: Reinstate Unlawfully Terminated Employees Now!

Washington, D.C. (March 3, 2025)—Today, Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, led Committee Democrats in sending a letter to Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Acting Director Charles Ezell requesting documents and information regarding the Trump-Musk Administration’s efforts to purge non-partisan, civil servants in probationary status and reinstate all whom were unlawfully terminated.

“We write in strong opposition to the expansion of the Trump Administration’s efforts to purge nonpartisan civil servants from the federal workforce, specifically recent unlawful mass terminations of employees in probationary status.  Probationary employees are often those who have been recently hired or promoted.   Indiscriminately firing thousands of these employees threatens the future of the nonpartisan federal workforce and our government’s ability to deliver life-saving services to the American people.  We strongly urge the Administration to reinstate all unlawfully terminated probationary status employees and cease plans to carry out further reductions in force (RIFs),” wrote the Members.  

The letter follows the Trump-Musk Administration’s rapid-fire efforts to illegally terminate federal employees within their probationary period: 

• On January 20, 2025, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued a memorandum titled, “Guidance on Probationary Periods, Administrative Leave and Details,” requiring agencies to identify and submit to OPM a list of employees within their probationary periods.
   
• On February 11, 2025, President Trump and Elon Musk, whose role in the federal government is still unknown, issued a sweeping executive order directing all agency heads to “initiate large-scale reductions in force.” According to public reporting, OPM advised all federal agencies to prioritize terminations of individuals in their probationary period.

Federal employees are placed on a probationary period when they hold less than one year of service.  However, the Members noted that federal employees may also be in probationary status if they transfer positions, offices, or departments, or receive promotions, leading to the potential firing of high performers and those who have been working for the federal government for decades.  

On February 27, 2025, Ranking Member Connolly issued a statement in response to a federal judge ordering OPM to rescind its directives that immediately led to sweeping layoffs of probationary federal employees. 

The Members concluded by highlighting the potentially devastating consequences of dismantling federal institutions through mass layoffs of mission-critical employees: 

“The Trump Administration’s executive overreach could cripple federal agencies, including in critical areas of disaster preparedness, public health, public safety, and national security.  For example, the reported firings of 2,400 U.S. Forest Service firefighting personnel could torch the federal government’s ability to respond to the upcoming wildfire season.  The widespread cuts at our leading public health agencies could choke the supply of essential nursing staff and the development of life-saving medical research.   The cuts at the Food and Nutrition Service could gut food quality monitoring and food safety inspections while the nation is undergoing a developing crisis of bird flu and increasing food recalls.   The staffing loss at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) risks a meltdown of mission-critical nuclear safety oversight and security protocols.”     

To assist in the Committee’s investigations, the Members requested compliance with numerous previous requests for information no later than March 17, 2025. 

Click here to read the letter to OPM Acting Director Charles Ezell.