On Thursday, the Trump administration ordered agencies to proceed with the layoffs, expanding its campaign to fire thousands of probationary employees.

Because probationary employees have fewer employment rights and no recourse to appeal, officials have targeted them. Probationary employees have usually been hired for less than a year, or two years in some situations.

The US Office of Personnel Management convened the call Thursday afternoon and provided the most recent 2024 data, which shows that over 200,000 employees had been with the federal government for less than a year.

Following the termination of several probationary employees earlier this week at the Department of Education, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the Small Business Administration, the culling took place on Thursday at several departments, including the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Energy.

Federal workers in all government departments have only been put on paid administrative leave until recently.

The instruction issued on Thursday represented a change in direction; earlier this week, OPM had advised agencies to concentrate on probationary employees who had been doing poorly rather than terminating all of them.

CNN adds that an OPM representative said in a statement on Thursday that the probationary term is not a guarantee of permanent employment but rather a continuance of the job application process. In response to the recent hiring restriction, agencies are acting independently and in support of the President's larger initiatives to simplify and reorganize the federal government to provide the best possible service to the American people.

The federal workforce has been completely upended since President Donald Trump and Elon Musk took office in January. They have dismissed senior officials and watchdogs, dismantled a vital humanitarian agency, and persuaded over 75,000 employees to voluntarily quit their positions by offering them a delayed departure.