DOGE expected to take aim at DHS with staffing cuts, including at US Secret Service

Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is expected to take aim at the Department of Homeland Security in the coming days, seeking potentially major cuts to personnel across its agencies, including the US Secret Service, multiple sources tell CNN.

Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is expected to take aim at the Department of Homeland Security in the coming days, seeking potentially major cuts to personnel across its agencies, including the US Secret Service, multiple sources tell CNN. DHS is bracing for what could amount to significant layoffs, four sources familiar with the matter who were granted anonymity to speak freely told CNN, though no final decisions have been made, and the ultimate scale and scope has not been set. This week, two of the sources said, there was back-and-forth negotiation and lobbying between DOGE, the White House, and Homeland Security leadership, with each of the department’s components expected to be impacted differently. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, is expected to be decimated, one of the sources said. Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement are also facing potential cuts, two of the sources said. A senior DHS official told CNN the department is “determined to eliminate government waste that has been happening for decades at the expense of the American taxpayer. Across DHS, we will be eliminating non-mission critical positions and bureaucratic hurdles that undermine our mission to secure the homeland. Secretary Noem is determined to return DHS to its core mission of keeping America safe.” CNN has reached out to DHS and DOGE for comment. The Secret Service declined to comment.