Trump Issues Executive Order to Freeze Federal Hiring

(Rob Kunzig/Morning Consult)

President Donald Trump on Monday issued an executive order to freeze federal hiring, one of his first acts as president to reduce the size of the government.

The hiring freeze does not apply to the military, Trump told reporters as he signed the order in the Oval Office. During the campaign, Trump pledged to halt government hiring during his first 100 days in office.

Trump signed two other executive orders on Monday: one that withdraws the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership and another that reinstates a GOP-backed policy barring the use of federal funds to foreign organizations that perform or promote abortion services.

House Speaker Paul Ryan praised Trump’s actions in a statement Monday.

“He has renewed President Reagan’s policy to ensure American taxpayers are not forced to subsidize abortions anywhere in the world,” the Wisconsin Republican said. “He has followed through on his promise to insist on better trade agreements. And by instituting a hiring freeze, he has taken a critical first step toward reining in Washington bureaucracy.”

Morning Consult