The job cuts are being imposed unilaterally, without the approval of Congress to shrink or overhaul federal agencies.

Office of Community Planning and Development: The Trump administration is aiming to cut the office, an arm of the department of Housing and Urban Development, from 936 staffers to 150, or 84%, the New York Times reported, citing a document it obtained detailing the plans.

NASA has abruptly closed its chief-scientist office, along with 2 other offices, firing 23 employees. The 10 March action leaves the agency without a way of feeding independent science advice to its topmost leadership, at a time when it is talking about sending astronauts to the Moon and developing plans to go onwards to Mars.

Two US judges have ordered several federal government agencies to reinstate the jobs of probationary employees fired en masse by the Trump administration last month. In California, District Judge William Alsup called the sacking of these employees part of a "sham" strategy that aimed to circumvent proper procedures for reducing the federal workforce.

Maryland judge orders workers reinstated at 18 agencies California judge says six agencies were improperly ordered to fire workers Biggest setback so far for bid to shrink federal workforce March 13 (Reuters) - Federal judges in California and Maryland on Thursday ordered U.

A second judge late Thursday ordered the Trump administration to reinstate probationary workers who were let go in mass firings across multiple agencies to shrink the federal government.