Trump’s Fifth Week: Firings, Reinstatements, and Executive Orders Reshaping the Federal Government
As the second Trump administration closes out its fifth week, sweeping changes continue across federal agencies, with widespread terminations, policy shifts, and growing concerns over executive power.
The fifth week of Trump’s second administration has been defined by sweeping terminations across federal agencies, sparking concerns over governance and national security. More than 130 employees at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) were dismissed, raising alarms about the nation’s cyber defense. The Department of Agriculture (USDA) came under scrutiny after firing key personnel responsible for handling the ongoing bird flu response, later attempting to rehire them. Meanwhile, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is expected to lose more than 3,500 employees.
Trump has continued issuing executive orders, including one expanding White House control over independent agencies such as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The same order grants the president and attorney general sole authority to interpret federal law, intensifying debates over executive power. His administration has also escalated efforts to roll back diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, ordering universities to dismantle DEI programs within two weeks or risk losing federal funding. Additionally, the State Department has directed U.S. embassies and consulates to cancel news subscriptions deemed “non-mission critical” by the administration.
On the foreign policy front, tensions with Ukraine have intensified following U.S.-Russia discussions aimed at ending the war without European involvement. Trump’s reported remarks blaming Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the conflict further underscore a shift in the administration’s stance on Russia and its support for Ukraine.
Mass Firings and Reinstatements Across Agencies
More than 300 employees were fired from the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), the federal agency that manages the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile. The terminations are part of President Trump’s ongoing effort to shrink the federal workforce, a priority since the start of his second term in January.
The NNSA initially retained 25 employees but quickly moved to rehire many of those dismissed following backlash and concerns over national security. Trump, however, dismissed the criticism, calling the firings “amazing.”
“No, not at all. I think we have to just do what we have to do,” Trump said Tuesday, according to CNN.
“It’s amazing what’s being found right now—it’s amazing. Some, if we feel that, in some cases, they’ll fire people and then they’ll put some people back, not all of them, because a lot of people were let go.”
A memo obtained by NBC News, sent to NNSA employees, stated that many of the firings were being rescinded, though the agency was struggling to contact those who had been dismissed.
“The termination letters for some NNSA probationary employees are being rescinded, but we do not have a good way to get in touch with those personnel,” the memo read.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) lost 130 employees following cuts at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which eliminated more than 400 positions. Over 200 of those dismissed came from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Elon Musk, head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), previously ordered the firing of FEMA employees, accusing the agency of misallocating millions of dollars in federal funds to house undocumented immigrants in luxury hotels, as previously reported by The Introspective.
Meanwhile, the Department of Defense is also preparing for mass firings, with a list of probationary employees reportedly sent to the Trump administration. According to NPR, more than 8% of Pentagon staff could be cut, potentially removing thousands from the federal government’s largest agency.
“There are waste, redundancies, and headcounts in headquarters that need to be addressed,” Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told The Washington Post.
The Pentagon currently employs more than 950,000 civilians, including thousands of military veterans.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was set to lay off nearly 7,000 employees Thursday, cutting more than 7% of its workforce in the middle of tax season. The terminations primarily affect probationary employees with less than a year of service, many of whom were hired as part of an expansion under former President Joe Biden.
Earlier this month, IRS employees were informed they would not be eligible for voluntary buyout offers—financial incentives to resign—until after the mid-May tax filing deadline.
Meanwhile, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston briefly closed earlier this week due to the mass firings but reopened Wednesday.
Policy Shifts and Executive Orders
The Trump administration's backlash against DEI policies continues with a new directive requiring schools and universities to eliminate their diversity initiatives within two weeks or face losing federal funding.
In a memo released last Saturday, the Department of Education instructed schools to stop using “racial preferences” in admissions, financial aid, and hiring. Schools have two weeks to end any practices that treat students or employees differently based on race or ethnicity.
“With this guidance, the Trump administration is directing schools to end the use of racial preferences and race stereotypes in their programs and activities—a victory for justice, civil rights laws, and the Constitution,” said Craig Trainor, acting assistant secretary for civil rights, in the memo.
“For decades, schools have operated under the pretext that selecting students for ‘diversity’ or similar euphemisms is not based on race. No longer. Students should be assessed according to merit, accomplishment, and character—not prejudged by the color of their skin. The Office for Civil Rights will enforce that commitment.”
The memo drew backlash from civil rights and university groups, with many concerned about how it might affect student aid and other factors.
“What we do know, however, is that 14 days is insufficient time for schools to assess and implement any necessary changes to be in compliance,” said Beth Maglione, interim president and CEO of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA), in a press release.
“The last thing students need when making plans about how to pay for college is uncertainty over when or whether they will receive financial aid they’ve been relying on.”
In an interview with The Associated Press, Jonathon Fansmith, senior vice president of government relations at the American Council on Education (ACE), a coalition of college presidents, said the memo’s vague language appears designed to pressure schools into eliminating any programs acknowledging race.
“Creating a sense of risk around doing work that might promote diverse and welcoming campuses is much more of the goal than a clear statement of existing law,” Fansmith said.
Further backlash followed after Trump signed an executive order Tuesday that increased presidential control over independent agencies—entities set up by Congress to be shielded from presidential influence—such as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which regulates communications like television and radio, and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which oversees consumer protection and business practices.
“For the federal government to be truly accountable to the American people, officials who wield vast executive power must be supervised and controlled by the people’s elected president,” the executive order reads.
The order also grants Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, the authority to “establish performance standards and management objectives” for the heads of independent agencies and to “report periodically to the president on their performance and efficiency in attaining such standards and objectives.” The order also requires Vought to review and adjust the agencies’ budgets “as necessary and appropriate, to advance the president’s policies and priorities,” according to the order.
Vought previously criticized the idea of independent agencies in an interview with conservative commentator Tucker Carlson shortly after the 2024 election.
“There are no independent agencies. Congress may have viewed them as such—the SEC, the FCC, the CFPB, the whole alphabet soup—but that is not something the Constitution understands,” Vought said.
“So, there may be different strategies with each one of them about how to dismantle them. But as an administration, the whole notion of an independent agency should be thrown out.”
The executive order also sparked further scrutiny by declaring that only the president and attorney general can interpret federal law, further expanding presidential power.
“The president and the attorney general (subject to the president’s supervision and control) will interpret the law for the executive branch, instead of having separate agencies adopt conflicting interpretations,” the order reads.
The idea of bringing independent agencies under direct presidential control was also discussed in the Project 2025 plan, a blueprint for Trump’s second term created by the conservative Heritage Foundation.
Meanwhile, the State Department ordered its embassies and consulates to cancel all news subscriptions deemed “non-mission critical,” according to a memo obtained by The Washington Post.
“Posts are asked to immediately place stop-work orders on all non-mission critical contracts/purchase orders for media subscriptions (publications, periodicals, and newspaper subscriptions) that are not academic or professional journals,” the memo stated.
Staff at embassies and consulates were instructed to cancel subscriptions to outlets such as The New York Times, Bloomberg, Politico, and the Associated Press, raising concerns about national security and the ability of Americans overseas to access critical news.
“This will endanger American lives overseas because we are being cut off from news sources that are needed on a daily basis,” an anonymous employee told The Washington Post.
Impacts on Health Policy
Following the swearing-in of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Jim Jones, head of the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) food division, resigned Tuesday after the mass firing of federal workers, including many at the FDA.
“I’m not sure if it’s a lack of understanding of how things get done, or if there’s really no seriousness about what they want to achieve,” Jones told Stat News.
“I don’t know. But I didn’t want to spend the next six months of my career on activities that are fundamentally about dismantling an organization, as opposed to working on the stated agenda.”
When questioned during a White House briefing, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt referred to Jones as “resistant.”
“There are a number of bureaucrats who are resistant to the democratic process and the mandate delivered by the American people,” Leavitt said.
“President Trump is only interested in the best and most qualified people who are also willing to implement his America First Agenda on behalf of the American people. It’s not for everyone, and that’s okay.”
According to agency research, the FDA regulates more than 77% of the U.S. food supply.
After Jones’ resignation, the USDA accidentally fired staff working on the government’s response to the H5N1 bird flu outbreak, and the agency is working to rehire those employees.
“Although several positions supporting [bird flu efforts] were notified of their terminations over the weekend, we are working to swiftly rectify the situation and rescind those letters,” said a USDA spokesperson in a report by NBC News.
“USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service frontline positions are considered public safety positions, and we are continuing to hire the workforce necessary to ensure the safety and adequate supply of food to fulfill our statutory mission.”
The accidental firings come as the bird flu virus has caused egg prices to surge and killed multiple chicken flocks. Research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed more than 69 human cases so far.
CIA Drone Expansion and Foreign Policy Developments
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) disclosed Tuesday that it has been operating a drone program, initiated under the Biden administration, which is now being expanded by the Trump administration to target alleged drug cartels and fentanyl labs in Mexico. A previous Introspective report highlighted an executive order signed during Trump’s first days back in office that designated cartels as “foreign terrorist organizations.”
“A lot of that stuff was, in some ways, perfected during our counterinsurgency fights overseas—Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere,” retired Lt. Darin Gaub said in an interview with NewsNation.
“So, if they are used along our side of the border, they can see quite a bit that would be very useful for the intelligence community to put together a picture of what’s happening.”
The CIA is sharing intelligence from the drones with Mexican officials, despite concerns over potential violations of Mexico’s sovereignty.
Meanwhile, tensions have escalated after Ukraine was excluded from U.S.-Russia discussions this week aimed at ending the conflict in the region. Trump referred to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a “dictator” and blamed Ukraine for the war following Russia’s 2022 invasion.
Zelenskyy responded to Trump’s claims Wednesday at a press conference, saying the former U.S. president lives in a “disinformation space.”
“Unfortunately, President Trump—I have great respect for him as a leader of a nation that we have great respect for, the American people who always support us—unfortunately lives in this disinformation space,” Zelenskyy told CNN.
A day after both leaders made disparaging remarks about each other, Trump’s envoy met with Zelenskyy on Thursday to discuss potential methods for ending the war in Ukraine and easing tensions between the two countries.
“It is crucial for us that the meeting and our overall cooperation with America be constructive,” Zelenskyy said Wednesday night during his nightly address.
As the Trump administration implements sweeping policy changes, the effects are being felt across education, health care, foreign relations, and national security. The rollback of DEI initiatives, restructuring of independent agencies, and shifts in international diplomacy have sparked debate, underscoring the deep political divides shaping the nation’s direction.