By Chris Prentice, Douglas Gillison and Lawrence Delevingne
NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission lawyers may be exempt from a demand from the Trump administration to send it a list of staff who are still on probation, according to a memo seen by Reuters, in a sign that they may see a reprieve from any mass firings.
Republican President Donald Trump has used his early days in office to shrink, purge and remake the U.S. federal government and federal agency heads have been asked to identify employees on probationary periods, or who have served less than two years. Such employees are easier to fire.
The SEC is a key agency, responsible for policing the $110 trillion U.S. capital markets and promoting capital formation.
The Office of Personnel Management, which has sought lists of probationary employees at federal agencies, has offered guidance that attorneys currently serving a trial period do not need to be included, according to an SEC memo dated February 5 seen by Reuters.
The memo, sent by the SEC’s Office of Human Resources, also reminded all SEC employees that they have until 11:59 p.m. on Thursday (0459 GMT Friday) to agree to a deferred resignation program that OPM offered to employees on January 28 – a deadline which was delayed until Monday at least by a federal judge on Thursday.
The OPM’s buyout offer is part of Trump’s and Elon Musk’s push to shrink the federal workforce. Trump deputized his billionaire adviser Musk to lead the overhaul, which has sparked protests and accusations by opposition Democrats that the world’s richest person is taking over the government.
The SEC declined to comment while OPM did not immediately respond to a query submitted by Reuters.
(Reporting by Chris Prentice, Douglas Gillison and Lawrence Delevingne, editing by Megan Davies and Marguerita Choy)
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