Nothing that ever happens in DC is with an eye to reducing government bureaucracy.
Thats true on not reducing government bureaucracy.
Make the consolidation contingent upon it. As a test case. If this will make things more efficient make the Administration say how many staff can be reduced by eliminating duplication. If the answer is “none” then the consolidation doesn’t happen.
If the answer is 15% (or an even higher number) then the consolidation gets approved but personnel gets capped at that figure as part of the legislation.