House Democrats ask OPM to reinstate probationary workers

House Democrats are asking the Trump administration to reinstate probationary employees that they say were unlawfully terminated and stop plans to carry out any more reductions in force (RIFs). 

In a letter shared exclusively with FedScoop, 18 Democratic lawmakers from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee asked the Office of Personnel Management acting Director Charles Ezell to produce documents and communications concerning the development and implementation of the executive order establishing the Department of Government Efficiency’s workforce optimization initiative.

“Some reports indicate the administration has terminated employees without proper individualized performance reviews or notice,” the letter states. “In many cases, the termination notices, which were sent via email, were inaccurate, misspelled employee names or included vague details on employee performance.”

House Democrats also asked for a complete list of probationary employees who the administration has fired, with information on each former employee’s demographics and performance ratings as well as documents and communications related to terminations that were ordered, advised or recommended by any member of the DOGE. 

Additionally, the lawmakers said that OPM has “failed to respond or produce a single responsive document” to previous requests that asked President Donald Trump to prompt the agency to transmit information about legislative investigations. Committee Democrats reiterated the requests in Monday’s letter. 

The requests, the House Democrats said, will “help determine the instances in which the administration may have violated the law or where the law should be amended to prevent abuses of power by the president or executive branch officials.”

The lawmakers’ requests come after General Services Administration probationary employees, like those in the U.S. Digital Corps, were terminated in compliance with the administration’s initiatives to right-size the federal government. A source familiar with the inner workings of USDC told FedScoop that DOGE employees had arranged 15-minute “touch-bases.” During those sessions, employees were asked by DOGE representatives — who did not have government emails or Personal Identity Verification cards — to share coding work. 

The administration’s more recent large-scale RIF actions include the shuttering of the GSA’s 18F program and the dismantling and transferring of USAID to the Department of State. 

“These arbitrary and capricious dismissals have already produced a chilling effect on skilled workers who desire a career with the federal civil service,” the letter said. “These firings will also eliminate institutional expertise and undermine the strong, merit-based and skilled workforce.”