The Department of Defense (DoD) was granted a “blanket exemption” from the civilian hiring freeze mandated by President Donald Trump, allowing “normal hiring actions and onboarding” to continue for the department’s civilian workforce, according to a U.S. Air Force memorandum obtained by MeriTalk.
“The Department of Defense … has a blanket exemption for the hiring freeze … As such, normal hiring actions and onboarding may continue,” the memo reads.
On day one of his second term, President Trump declared an immediate but temporary freeze on hiring of Federal government civilian employees, which prevents Federal agencies from filling any “Federal civilian position that is vacant … and no new position may be created except as otherwise provided for in this memorandum or other applicable law,” the order says.
The order remains in effect for at least 90 days, after which the Office of Management and Budget, the Office of Personnel Management, and the United States DOGE service will submit a plan to reduce the Federal workforce through efficiency and attrition, ending the hiring freeze.
When the initial memo announcing the hiring freeze was issued, it specifically excluded military personnel, but it was unclear whether the exemption extended to all DoD positions.
The Jan. 29 memo from the Air Force clears up that uncertainty, confirming the DoD has a blanket exemption from the hiring freeze, allowing normal hiring processes at the department to continue.
Yet, the memo stresses that “civilian personnel are managed by funded work years rather than end strength; as such, you must closely monitor and manage hiring within your allocated budget.”
Additionally, the memo notes “that the current blanket exemption does not preclude DoD leadership from determining that a future, targeted hiring freeze could be of value.”
