Stephen Miller Actively Recruiting Young Federal Workers Loyal to Trump, Report Reveals
White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, the architect of President Donald Trump's mass deportation agenda, is playing an active role in discussions about recruiting new federal workers, according to a new report from The Washington Post. This hiring spree comes approximately one year after the Department of Government Efficiency, once led by billionaire Elon Musk, slashed hundreds of thousands of government jobs in a sweeping restructuring effort.
Miller's Emphasis on Youth and Ideological Alignment
Amid this renewed hiring push, Miller has been personally involved in recruitment discussions, two sources familiar with the matter told the Post. The sources revealed that Miller has specifically emphasized hiring young applicants and wants new federal workers to possess views aligned with Trump's political goals and policy objectives.
Some job postings already appear to reflect these priorities. One notable listing for a position titled "Homeland Defender" reportedly calls on applicants to "protect your homeland and defend your culture," while asking candidates to describe how they would advance Trump's policies in practice.
Background of Federal Workforce Reduction
The Department of Government Efficiency, established shortly after Trump took office in January 2025, worked aggressively to shrink federal agencies, slash budgets, and dramatically reduce the federal workforce throughout last year. According to official data published recently, the U.S. government experienced a reduction of more than 386,000 workers between September 2024 and January 2026.
Scott Kupor, director of the Office of Personnel Management, acknowledged to The Washington Post that "We probably have some skills that we now need to hire back, quite frankly." He added, "There's no question anytime you do restructurings ... sometimes you over-restructure, sometimes you under-restructure."
Contradictory Statements About DOGE's Status
In a curious development last November, less than a year after DOGE's work began, Kupor told Reuters that the office "doesn't exist" and had become a "centralized entity." He later clarified his comments on social media platform X, writing that while DOGE "may not have centralized leadership," its principles "remain alive and well" within the administration.
Davis Ingle, a White House spokesperson, told the Post that President Trump was given a "mandate to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse from the federal government." He added that the president has made "significant progress in making the federal government more efficient to better serve the American taxpayer."
Future Reshaping of Federal Agencies
Kupor also indicated to the outlet that there could be more "opportunities to reshape" federal agencies over the coming year, though he declined to specify which departments might be impacted by these potential changes. Despite the current hiring push, some officials expect the government workforce to remain smaller than it was before DOGE's sweeping cuts, according to the Post's reporting.
The Independent has contacted the White House for additional comment on these developments. The hiring initiative represents a significant shift from the previous year's focus on workforce reduction, now emphasizing strategic recruitment of personnel who share the administration's ideological orientation.
