DOGE ends on July 4 as agencies reverse Elon Musk-era workforce cuts and ramp up hiring

WASHINGTON, DC: The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) officially ended on July 4 as federal agencies moved to reverse Elon Musk-era workforce cuts and ramp up hiring across the government.

The shift marks a sharp turnaround after hundreds of thousands of federal employees left voluntarily or were fired during the sweeping downsizing drive. Multiple agencies that slashed their ranks are now staffing up again.

Federal agencies reverse Elon Musk-era cuts

DOGE officially terminated on Saturday, July 4, under the executive order that created the cost-cutting project, bringing an end to the Musk-led effort that tore through the federal workforce during President Donald Trump's first months back in office last year.

Musk, a former White House Senior Advisor, Tesla and SpaceX CEO, slashed thousands of jobs while heading DOGE. He stepped down from the role on May 30, 2025.

The retreat is already visible in agencies hit by the cuts.

According to a NOTUS report, multiple departments that sharply reduced their employee rolls during the early months of Trump’s second term are hiring again.

The National Endowment for the Humanities recently began contacting former employees and inviting them to interview for positions now being filled, the report stated. Those jobs are also appearing on the government’s USAJobs website.

Over the first five months of 2026, the Office of Personnel Management-run site listed more than 104,000 new positions. That was nearly 40,000 more than the 68,900 jobs listed during the final five months of 2025.

OPM Director Scott Kupor described the new approach as a “reshaping” of the federal workforce rather than a continued push to slash headcount.

“Do we have the right headcount for the priorities of the administration?” Kupor told NOTUS. “And where we don’t, let’s make sure we go figure out how to fill those gaps.”

IRS and State Department start hiring again

The hiring push reaches some of the same departments that previously touted major reductions in force under DOGE.

OPM has given the Internal Revenue Service special authority to fast-track the hiring of as many as 8,000 workers after the agency slashed a quarter of its workforce under DOGE.

The State Department is also hiring and training new Foreign Service Officers again after cutting hundreds of more experienced diplomatic staff, the report said.

The reversal follows Musk’s sweeping role as an unpaid "Special Government Employee," when he worked from offices in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, sat in on Trump Cabinet meetings and pursued cuts across federal agencies.

The tech mogul also reportedly clashed with Cabinet secretaries who resisted his plans to reduce payrolls without their involvement. His high-profile push included wielding what he called the “Chainsaw for Bureaucracy” at last year’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).

Trump administration backs full-time federal hires

The end of DOGE also leaves behind the costly “Fork in the Road” offer, which the source estimated created an $11 billion hole in the federal budget by paying workers full salaries and benefits for nine months before they officially resigned.

But the administration’s hiring strategy is now moving in the opposite direction. Rather than replacing departed workers with contractors, Kupor said agencies are being encouraged to bring on new full-time employees.

“We’re very supportive of that activity,” Kupor told NOTUS.