On December 19, 2017, Ranking Member Cummings sent a letter to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Mick Mulvaney requesting copies of the final downsizing plans that the Trump Administration directed each agency to submit to OMB by the end of September.

Cummings wrote: “As you know, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has jurisdiction over both the federal workforce and proposed agency reorganizations, and the Trump Administration is now in the midst of one of the largest reorganizations in decades with virtually no oversight by Congress. As Members of this Committee, we believe it is our job to analyze the Administration’s plans to determine if, and to what extent, these massive reductions in staffing will impact the services the American people rely on every single day—particularly when the President and Republicans in Congress have been promoting a tax cut that will primarily benefit the rich while increasing the federal deficit by more than $1 trillion.”

On October 5, 2017, all Democrats on the Oversight Committee sent a letter to Gowdy requesting hearings on the actions of the Trump Administration in restricting the hiring of federal employees across multiple federal agencies—without the approval of Congress—and the detrimental effects that massive staffing shortages are having on national security, environmental safety, and health and wellness. As part of this review, the Democrats also requested that the Committee obtain the agency downsizing reports. Gowdy refused both requests.