New Federal Hiring Freeze End Date And Hiring Restrictions

It didn’t end April 21. But there is now a new date for when the federal hiring freeze will end. President Donald Trump has issued a new executive order.

A federal hiring freeze has been in place for more than three months. On January 20, President Trump signed an executive order halting federal hiring for 90 days so that his administration could conduct a review and then draft and submit plans for reducing the size of the federal government workforce.

Since the January order has been in place, many have wondered whether the hiring freeze would be lifted at the end of April or if it would be extended.

The new hiring freeze end date.

The federal hiring freeze has been extended for three additional months with the new end date being July 15, 2025. Except where indicated below, this freeze impacts all executive departments and agencies regardless of their sources of funding.

President Trump signed the new executive order extending the federal hiring freeze and stipulating that

“No Federal civilian position that is presently vacant may be filled, and no new position may be created, except as otherwise provided for in this memorandum or required by applicable law.”

Trump will reevaluate and decide whether to lift the hiring freeze at some point in July.

White House issued a fact sheet about the hiring freeze extension.

In addition to the signed executive order, the White House issued a fact sheet with details on extending the hiring freeze. In summary, the fact sheet:

• confirms that the hiring freeze extends for an additional three months until July 15, 2025.
• clarifies that once a merit hiring plan has been adopted, any hiring of employees exempt from the freeze shall be consistent with that plan.
• states that the hiring freeze is in place to promote “fiscal responsibility and government efficiency” with a goal to shrink the federal government and ensure an efficient use of taxpayer dollars.
• states that President Trump is committed to reversing hiring trends from the Biden administration and to reducing the federal workforce to focus on essential functions.
• states that, “President Trump established the “Department of Government Efficiency” to reduce bureaucracy and eliminate waste.

Hiring restrictions for after the hiring freeze ends.

After the hiring freeze ends, strict limits on recruitment will continue. The Trump administration has indicated within the fact sheet that government agencies will be limited to hiring one employee for every four federal employees who depart government.

Additionally, the April 17 hiring freeze order stipulates that, “once a merit hiring plan has been adopted pursuant to Executive Order 14170 of January 20, 2025 (Reforming the Federal Hiring Process and Restoring Merit to Government Service), any hiring shall be consistent with that plan.”

Exemptions from the hiring freeze.

President Trump has specifically excluded certain categories of federal workers from the hiring freeze. The following categories of employees are not bound or restricted by the hiring freeze.

• Armed forces military personnel
• Immigration enforcement federal employees
• National security and public safety federal employees
• The Executive Office of the President or components thereof

The latest executive order, as with the original one, indicates that the hiring freeze shall not “adversely impact the provision of Social Security, Medicare, or veterans’ benefits.” And, it stipulates that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) may grant appropriate exemptions.

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