Lawyers working for the SEC may be exempt from some Trump administration efforts to reduce the cost and impact of government by slashing the ranks of federal employees.
Attorneys working for federal agencies need not be included in lists of new or probationary employees requested by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), according to a Feb. 5 memo from the SEC Office of Human Resources that was shown but not given to reporters from Reuters.
The memo did not explain why only attorneys should be exempt from an OPM request for lists of federal employees hired within the past two years and those still serving probationary periods, both of which would be easier to fire under federal employment rules, according to the Feb. 6 Reuters story.
The request is part of a larger effort by the Trump administration to reduce the size of government, especially at agencies Trump loyalists blame for resisting Trump’s political priorities during his first term.
The effort – backed by the controversial efforts of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) – follows a Jan. 28 White House buyout memo implying that the two million employees included in the effort would face layoffs with few benefits if they resisted incentives to retire early.
More than 60,000 federal employees have reportedly accepted the offer, which was blocked temporarily Feb. 6 to allow legal challenges during a Feb. 10 hearing by unions representing government workers.
Neither the SEC nor the OPM has commented publicly on the effort or on the potential immunity of attorneys at the SEC, but the Feb. 6 Reuters story said reporters were also shown a Jan. 29 memo from SEC COO Ken Johnson that said the agency learned about the buyout at the same time employees did and was “seeking further clarification” about the program.
