Under federal law, RIFs allow for large-scale terminations based on reorganization, lack of work, or lack of funds — tools that can be strategically invoked to remove politically inconvenient staff without appearing overtly partisan. While layoffs are a normal part of bureaucratic adjustment, this strategy is distinct for its intent: targeting the structure and memory of federal institutions to weaken their capacity to resist politicized directives.
Historically, authoritarian regimes such as Putin’s Russia, Orbán’s Hungary, and Fujimori’s Peru used similar tactics to weaken internal dissent and erode bureaucratic professionalism. By laying off neutral experts and reassigning roles to loyalists or political appointees, the administration builds a compliant machinery of government that serves the executive, not the public.
This maneuver often follows or complements reclassification strategies like Schedule F, creating a pipeline where newly vulnerable staff can be terminated en masse and replaced quietly.
What to Watch For
- Announcements of agency-wide or department-specific “restructuring” plans
- Budget proposals emphasizing cuts to regulatory or oversight functions
- Sudden layoffs of mid- and senior-level career staff, especially in DOJ, EPA, IRS, and OMB
- Justifications citing “efficiency,” “mission realignment,” or “duplicative roles”
- New hiring portals or staffing initiatives seeking ideologically aligned applicants
- Congressional hearings or OMB reports flagging sweeping administrative shifts