The Trump administration plans to increase federal hiring by attracting college graduates and early-career professionals, and by focusing on recruitment for healthcare, program management, and technology roles, according to the head of the Office of Personnel Management.
OPM Director Scott Kupor said the administration is shifting into a new phase of its effort to reshape the federal bureaucracy, one that keeps the government lean while ensuring agencies have the skilled workforce needed to carry out President Donald Trump's priorities.
"We probably have some skills that we now need to hire back, quite frankly," Kupor told The Washington Post, acknowledging that sweeping restructuring efforts sometimes require adjustments.
The hiring push follows major workforce reductions during Trump's first year back in office, when the administration — working with allies including entrepreneur Elon Musk through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative — eliminated large portions of what it described as a bloated federal bureaucracy.
Administration officials say the effort was part of Trump's broader promise to cut waste, fraud, and abuse in Washington and make government more accountable to taxpayers.
"President Trump was given a clear mandate to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse from the federal government," White House spokesman Davis Ingle said.
"In just a year, he has made significant progress in making the federal government more efficient to better serve the American taxpayer."
According to data from OPM, the administration has cut roughly 387,000 federal jobs since Trump took office while hiring about 123,000 employees during that same period.
Officials say the goal now is to rebuild critical areas while keeping the overall workforce far smaller than before the reforms began.
Kupor said the administration is particularly focused on attracting younger workers, noting that only about 7% of the federal workforce is currently under age 30.
"We want to demonstrate that public service can be a launchpad for talented young professionals," he said.
A major part of that strategy is a new initiative called "Tech Force," a two-year program that partners with private-sector technology companies to place software engineers and data analysts in federal agencies.
Participants will gain government experience while developing skills that can later translate to the private sector.
Supporters say the program could modernize government technology and strengthen cybersecurity at a time when adversaries such as China, Russia, and Iran continue to pose digital threats to U.S. infrastructure.
The administration is also centralizing hiring decisions and expanding the role of political appointees to ensure new employees support the president's policy agenda.
Kupor said aligning the federal workforce with elected leadership is consistent with the constitutional design of the executive branch.
"The president has certain priorities," he said. "When we decide to execute those priorities, people may call that political — but that's the way the process was designed."
Officials say the overall goal is a smaller, more efficient government staffed by professionals committed to implementing Trump's agenda while delivering better service to the public.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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