Robert Besser
23 Apr 2025

WASHINGTON, D.C.: President Donald Trump will sign a new executive order on April 24 to extend the freeze on hiring new federal workers until July, the White House said.

The original freeze began on January 20, his first day in office, and was supposed to end this month.

This new order comes as a second wave of large layoffs has started in several government agencies. These job cuts are part of efforts led by Trump and Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency. Many federal workers are also being offered buyouts as an alternative to losing their jobs.

So far, more than 260,000 federal employees out of a total 2.3 million have either been fired, retired early, marked for termination, or accepted buyout offers, according to Reuters.

At the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), more than 22,000 workers recently accepted a buyout offer. About 75,000 had already received a similar offer earlier this year. These workers will be paid through September 30, even though most won't be required to work during that time.

Despite the freeze, one government agency in charge of cutting jobs recently hired a new driver to transport its leaders, making it the first new hire since Trump took office.