The Department of Homeland Security is preparing to make voluntary cuts to its workforce, according to an email sent to agency staff on Monday evening.
An email addressed from DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to DHS staff lists at least three options, all of them voluntary: A workforce transition program, a deferred resignation program, and a buyout option.
The voluntary reductions appear to apply to all agencies under DHS, which include Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Secret Service and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
But "as a general rule, law enforcement officials will be exempt from participation in these programs due to their essential mission-critical responsibilities," Noem writes in the email.
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The email is therefore generating new questions for some staffers within DHS.
A source within the U.S. Secret Service that spoke to Scripps News said the email does not make clear if support staff who work with Secret Service agents in various roles have the same designation and protection as law enforcement.
The source also said some in that agency believe a mandatory reduction in force program may soon follow the voluntary options presented in the email.
The news comes as the U.S. Supreme Court is poised to issue critical rulings that may determine the fate of the Department of Government Efficiency and the future of President Donald Trump’s efforts to downsize the federal government.
Among the key issues at stake are recently terminated diversity, equity, and inclusion grants within the Department of Education, as well as the legality of layoffs affecting thousands of probationary employees across six government agencies. The central question remains: Did Trump and his administration have the legal authority to implement these decisions?
This is a developing story and will be updated.
