Plans to Conduct Targeted Firings of High-Level Officials

In mid-February 2025, multiple sources told NBC News that the Trump administration was preparing to fire hundreds of senior career employees at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), specifically focusing on those at the Senior Executive Service (SES) and GS-15 levels. According to sources, the administration had a "centralized plan" and a prepared list of targeted individuals. Administration officials explicitly stated the purpose was not workforce reduction but removal of employees deemed misaligned with the administration's goals. Though it is not entirely clear whether that plan was carried out in whole or in part, there were subsequent reports of targeted personnel actions (forced retirements, relocations, firings, etc.) of top officials at Customs and Border Protection (CBP), a DHS component.