Washington, D.C. –  On Friday, Congresswoman Beth Van Duyne (TX-24) introduced the Reducing Expensive Departments & Unnecessary Civil Employees Act (REDUCE Act) to codify President Trump’s executive action to shrink the bloated bureaucracy. The REDUCE Act will force agencies to eliminate duplicative positions and reform hiring practices to rein in the administrative state.

“The American people demanded a slimmed down federal government that is responsive to the needs of working Americans, instead of self-serving bureaucrats, and operates more efficiently and effectively for our country,” said Rep. Van Duyne. “North Texans have felt the painful impacts of the empowered administrative state, including through the trillions of dollars of new regulatory costs. I’m introducing this bill to codify President Trump’s executive order to reduce the size and scope of the federal government.” 

Background:

• With an imprecisely known number of federal agencies that totals over 400 (per the Federal Register) and a federal workforce of more than 2.4 million (excluding active-duty military and Postal Service employees), there are too many federal employees and agencies.
• On February 11, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order implementing the President’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) workforce optimization initiative.
• On February 21, 2025, Congresswoman Van Duyne – a member of the Delivering Outstanding Government Efficiency (DOGE) Caucus – introduced the REDUCE Act to codify President Trump’s executive action to make the federal workforce more efficient and effective. 
• Agencies will be required to remove duplicative positions and hire no more than one employee for every four employees who depart the federal workforce with exceptions for immigration, law enforcement, and public safety.
• This follows Van Duyne's reintroduction of the GORAC Act, legislation to shrink the bureaucracy and pay down the national debt.

Click here for bill text. 

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