Boom: Trump eyes 10% spending cuts, 20% slash of federal workers

Washington Examiner ^ | January 17,2017 | PAUL BEDARD

[Hojczyk]

Making good on a promise to slash government, President-elect Trump has asked his incoming team to pursue spending and staffing cuts.

Insiders said that the spending reductions in some departments could go as high as 10 percent and staff cuts to 20 percent, numbers that would rock Washington if he follows through.

At least two so-called "landing teams" in Cabinet agencies have relayed the call for cuts as part of their marching orders to shrink the flab in government.

The cuts would target discretionary spending, not mandated programs such as Medicare or Social Security, the sources said.

The spending reductions are expected to be used to help pay for Trump's plan to boost the Pentagon's budget, tax cuts and some pet projects, potentially including the anti-immigration wall on the nation's southern border.

The teams also are looking at staffing cuts over four years through attrition, a hiring freeze and reorganization.

The plan is winning cheers in conservative, anti-tax and anti-spending corners in Washington that have long sought massive cuts in the bureaucracy.

Presidents rarely cut spending, choosing freezes instead. In the meantime, federal spending has reached historic levels. Trump has picked a budget hawk, Rep. Mick Mulvaney, to head the Office of Management and Budget, a clear sign that spending cuts are a top priority.

[ReformedBeckite]

I’ve got a question, Didn’t Reagan make a 10% cut in all departments, or at least proposed it, or made big cuts in purposed spending and the Democrats fought it like tooth and nail. It seems like I remember something like that, I’m kind of fuzzy on that history since I was a young ignorant whipper snapper back then.

[keving]

Simply removing non core work responsibilities will be a start.

[Arthur McGowan]

LIFO is a great way to get rid of the Obama plants.

[Twotone]

It is not real change if we continue to maintain a bunch of unconstitutional departments doing unconstitutional stuff all the while we’re trillions in debt. This is not Trump’s fault, of course. But he’s missing out on a perfect opportunity to implement real, consequential change if he & the Republican House & Senate don’t go for broke to eliminate as much of Fed-Gov as possible. I’d start with giving all lands held by the government back to the states, & then eliminate every agency that manages them. Energy, Education & EPA should be high on the list for removal.

Just think of what would’ve happened if the Dems had really used their power when Zero first took office. They could’ve rammed amnesty through, but decided to leave it as a campaign issue for the next election. If they’d legalized all the illegals we would’ve never seen another Republican in office. That was their mistake. Let’s not make our own.