Trump terminates hundreds of DHS officials

President Donald Trump just terminated hundreds of employees at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). 

Breitbart News reports that Trump executed this move towards the end of last week.

This is all part of Trump's plan to cut waste, fraud, and abuse out of government. The total number of employees that were cut from the DHS is around 400, which is a drop in the bucket compared to some of Trump's other recent firings.

DHS, of course, is the agency that is now being led by Secretary Kristi Noem. It is also the agency that is helping to clean up the illegal immigration crisis.

Another 400 gone!

According to ABC News, most of the 400 terminations were of employees of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Per the outlet:

The bulk of the cuts were at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which saw over 200 people cut, and then the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which saw 130 people cut. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services saw under 50 people cut, and DHS Science and Technology Directorate saw 10 people cut.

FEMA has faced tremendous scrutiny in recent months for its handling of the natural disasters that took place in North Carolina and California. Trump has made it clear that he is looking to reform the agency - in fact, he has even floated the possibility of simply eliminating it.

ABC goes on to report:

Additionally, 12 Coast Guard members who work on diversity, equity and inclusion were affected by the reduction in force, with an offer to support border security efforts at the southwestern border. All of these people are based out of Washington, D.C., and are currently on administrative leave.

Trump has declared DEI "dead," and this is part of his mission to make sure that this statement is true.

"Sweeping cuts and reform"

DHS has released a statement on the recent firings.

It said:

Under President Trump's leadership, we are making sweeping cuts and reform across the federal government to eliminate egregious waste and incompetence that has been happening for decades at the expense of the American taxpayer.

The department went on to say that it is expecting this latest move to save Americans about $50 million.

"Today's Department of Homeland Security personnel action will result in roughly $50 million in savings for American taxpayers and incalculable value toward accountability and cutting red tape," the department said.

It added, "DHS component leads identified non-mission critical personnel in probationary status. We are actively identifying other wasteful positions and offices that do not fulfill DHS' mission."