Department of Government Efficiency staffers were at the Pentagon on Tuesday and receiving lists of the military’s probationary employees, U.S. officials said.
However, it was not clear that all probationary personnel would be let go — instead, some might be exempted due to the critical nature of their work. The military services each had until end of business Tuesday to identify their probationary employees.
The affected personnel would include defense civilians who are still new to their jobs, not uniformed military personnel, who are exempt, according to the four officials who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
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The potential cuts at the Pentagon, first reported by The Washington Post, follow reductions at other federal agencies, where probationary employees who were conducting critical functions and had high-level clearances, including staff at the National Nuclear Security Administration, were fired despite their role.
The vast majority of the fired NNSA staff were later told they were being reinstated.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has supported cuts to the department, posting on X last week that the Pentagon needs “to cut the fat (HQ) and grow the muscle (warfighters.)”
The Government Accountability Office found in 2023 that more than 700,000 full-time civilians were working for the Defense Department.
President Donald Trump has entrusted the workforce reductions to Elon Musk, who has billions of dollars in government contracts with the Pentagon.
In recent days, however, Trump has said Musk is not officially in charge of DOGE but serving as his senior adviser, which followed multiple lawsuits challenging Musk’s authority to carve through federal agencies.
Tara Copp is a Pentagon correspondent for the Associated Press. She was previously Pentagon bureau chief for Sightline Media Group.
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