Pentagon Orders Swift Firings of Underperforming Civilian Workers

In a bold move that underscores President Trump’s commitment to draining the swamp, the Pentagon has issued a new directive ordering supervisors to remove underperforming civilian employees with “speed and conviction.” The policy, quietly released just one day before the government shutdown, is already shaking the federal bureaucracy to its core.

The internal memo, titled “Separation of Employees with Unacceptable Performance,” was signed by Under Secretary of Defense Anthony Tata and represents a significant shift in how the Department of Defense deals with inefficiency within its civilian workforce.

“Supervisors and human resources (HR) professionals are directed to act with speed and conviction to facilitate the separation from Federal service of employees performing unsuccessfully,” the memo states.

This change isn’t just bureaucratic it’s philosophical. It marks a return to accountability over entitlement, after decades of federal employees enjoying near-complete job security, regardless of performance.

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, who has been leading the charge to eliminate what he calls “debris” inside the Department, explained the rationale clearly:

“The sooner we have the right people, the sooner we can advance the right policies. Personnel is policy.”

• The new guidelines remove several long-standing bureaucratic protections, allowing managers to fire employees based on performance reviews deemed “unacceptable.”

• Supervisors are now required to use Douglas Factors federal job evaluation criteria with added language emphasizing mission-critical roles, meaning any deficiency could justify termination.

• Managers themselves can now be held accountable for failing to act against poor performance a reversal from years of hands-off leadership.

Notably, nearly half of the Defense Department’s civilian workforce has been furloughed during the government shutdown. The administration had already attempted to permanently remove thousands of those furloughed workers earlier this month, but the move was temporarily blocked by a federal judge.

Critics particularly from within the entrenched D.C. bureaucracy are already howling. Some claim the guidance is too broad and could be used to remove employees who oppose the Trump administration’s goals. But for conservatives, that’s exactly the point: why should taxpayers be on the hook for bureaucrats who actively undermine national policy?

This is part of a broader shift in federal government philosophy that conservatives have long demanded. For too long, federal workers have operated under a “can’t be fired” mindset, protected by red tape and unions more interested in power than performance. That era is now being dismantled, brick by brick.

It’s about time the Pentagon and the rest of the federal government functions more like the real world, where results matter and dead weight isn’t tolerated.

If this directive holds, it could serve as a model across all federal agencies under a renewed Trump administration in 2025. One where competence, accountability, and loyalty to the mission are finally back at the center of public service.

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