Moments after being inaugurated, President Donald Trump ordered a hiring freeze throughout all federal agencies for the foreseeable future.
The freeze includes all federal agencies, including the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the United States Forest Service (USFS), and the United States Department of the Interior (DOI), triggering worries among the nation’s wildland firefighters as record-breaking fires burn Los Angeles and just months before peak wildfire season begins. Many wildland firefighters who recently accepted job offers took to the internet to ask whether the offer will now be revoked.
“As part of this freeze, no Federal civilian position that is vacant at noon on January 20, 2025, may be filled, and no new position may be created except as otherwise provided for in this memorandum or other applicable law,” Trump’s order said. “This freeze applies to all executive departments and agencies regardless of their sources of operational and programmatic funding.”
The U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) released a memorandum to each executive department and agency head moments after Trump’s order. The memorandum offers some insight into the exemptions of Trump’s order, namely an exemption of seasonal employees.
“Appointment of seasonal employees and short-term temporary employees necessary to meet traditionally recurring seasonal workloads, provided that the agency informs its OMB Resource Management Office in writing in advance of its hiring plans,” the memorandum said.
While some assumed the seasonal employee exemption covered wildland firefighters, confusion arose when USDA sent out its own memo a day later that said no exceptions applied to the department.
“At this time, there are no exceptions to the hiring freeze with respect to the Department of Agriculture (USDA),” the USDA memo obtained by WildfireToday said. “Accordingly, effective immediately, agencies and offices are not authorized to extend an offer of employment to any person. Persons to whom an offer of employment has been extended, but acceptance has not been received, shall be contacted immediately and be informed that the offer has been revoked.”
WildfireToday asked the USFS for clarity on whether wildland firefighter positions were exempt. The service referred us to the following statement from a USDA spokesperson:
“USDA is reviewing all the Executive Orders signed by President Trump and expects to share guidance on implementing them to agencies and mission areas as soon as possible.”
A DOI spokesperson told WildfireToday that it and the National Park Service are implementing Trump’s freeze across the federal civilian workforce. Officials are waiting for a report to be released by OMB and the newly-formed non-federal Department of Government Efficiancy (DOGE) within 90 days of Trump’s executive order to determine next steps.
This isn’t the first time a federal-wide hiring freeze enacted by Trump caused mass confusion for wildland firefighters. He ordered a similar freeze in 2017 after he took office.
Then USDA Acting Deputy Secretary Michael Young, however, exempted several public safety-related positions from that freeze in 2017 weeks after it went into effect. Time will tell if the current administration enacts the same exemption.
“The (2017) exemption specifically allows the Forest Service to move forward with hiring wildland firefighting resources, such as individual firefighters and specialists,” reporting from the Flathead Beacon said. “Other positions that were exempt in the USDA decision include law enforcement and disaster preparedness-related personnel in multiple agencies, food inspectors and medical officers in the Food Safety and Inspection Service and cyber security personnel in multiple agencies.”
This is a developing situation. WildfireToday will share updated guidance once it is released by USDA officials.