Skip to content
Project 2025
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories
An abstract grid wall of shipping containers, unevenly arranged with some jutting out, all decorated in the colors and patterns of the USA flag. A prominent percentage sign overlays the grid.

Tariffs on Trial: The Supreme Court’s Hidden Battle for Balance

Paramount-WBD Deal: Antitrust, Consumers, and the Future of Media

Paramount-WBD Deal: Antitrust, Consumers, and the Future of Media

Donald Trump isn’t joking about a third term

Donald Trump isn’t joking about a third term

Have Males Always been the Problem?

Have Males Always been the Problem?

Two containers, one with a U.S. flag and another with Canada's flag.

Just the Facts: U.S.–Canada Tariff War Escalates As Trump Raises Stakes

Pentagon Reportedly Pauses Plan for Mass Civilian Layoffs

News

Pentagon Reportedly Pauses Plan for Mass Civilian Layoffs
File:An aerial view of the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., May 15 ...
commons.wikimedia.org
Hugo Balta
By Hugo BaltaFeb 22, 2025
Hugo Balta
Hugo Balta is a journalist, educator, and communicator. Hugo is the executive editor of the Fulcrum and a board member of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund, the parent organization of The Fulcrum. He is the publisher of the Latino News Network, a trainer with the Solutions Journalism Network, and an adjunct professor teaching journalism courses.
See More Writings by author

According to CNN, on Friday, the Defense Department temporarily halted its plan to lay off thousands of probationary employees.

The decision to pause follows a CNN report on Wednesday indicating that the mass layoffs—potentially impacting over 50,000 civilian employees across the Pentagon—might violate Title 10, Section 129a of the US code. After the report, Pentagon lawyers began a closer review of the terminations' legality, officials said.

The law states that the secretary of defense "may not reduce the civilian workforce programmed full-time equivalent levels" without properly analyzing how the layoffs could affect the U.S. military’s lethality and readiness. It also emphasizes that mitigating risks to military readiness must take priority over cost considerations.

The ordered cuts represent a significant shift in defense spending to support President Donald Trump’s priorities, including a U.S. missile defense system similar to Iron Dome and enhanced border security.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly stated that President Trump’s directive to the department—to “achieve Peace through Strength”—is clear, emphasizing the urgent need to revive the warrior ethos, rebuild the military, and reestablish deterrence.

Democrats argue that the initiative is a sham, claiming it will not only fail to save taxpayers money but also weaken America’s defense capabilities amid growing global threats.

“These types of hasty, indiscriminate budget cuts would betray our military forces and their families and make America less safe,” Senate Armed Services Committee ranking member Jack Reed (D-R.I.) said in a statement, reported The Hill.

However, Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) said the Pentagon effort is simply the new administration reviewing the entire budget.

The Pentagon has proposed cutting 8% of its budget in the next five years, amounting to $50 billion yearly.

Hugo Balta is the executive editor of the Fulcrum and a board member of the Bridge Alliance Education Fund, the parent organization of The Fulcrum. He is the publisher of the Latino News Network

Latest news

Hardliners vs. Loyalists: Republicans Divide Over Mamdani Moment
Ethics & Leadership

Hardliners vs. Loyalists: Republicans Divide Over Mamdani Moment

Rebuilding Democracy in the Age of Brain Rot
Media & Technology

Rebuilding Democracy in the Age of Brain Rot

Trump's Clemency for Giuliani et al is Another Effort to Whitewash History and Damage Democracy
Ethics & Leadership

Trump's Clemency for Giuliani et al is Another Effort to Whitewash History and Damage Democracy

What the Success Academy Scandal Says About the Charter School Model
Education

What the Success Academy Scandal Says About the Charter School Model

Read More

From Nixon to Trump: A Blueprint for Restoring Congressional Authority
the capitol building in washington d c is seen from across the water
Photo by Chad Stembridge on Unsplash

From Nixon to Trump: A Blueprint for Restoring Congressional Authority

The unprecedented power grab by President Trump, in many cases, usurping the clear and Constitutional authority of the U.S. Congress, appears to leave our legislative branch helpless against executive branch encroachment. In fact, the opposite is true. Congress has ample authority to reassert its role in our democracy, and there is a precedent.

During the particularly notable episode of executive branch corruption during the Nixon years, Congress responded with a robust series of reforms. Campaign finance laws were dramatically overhauled and strengthened. Nixon’s overreach on congressionally authorized spending was corrected with the passage of the Impoundment Act. And egregious excesses by the military and intelligence community were blunted by the War Powers Act and the bipartisan investigation by Senator Frank Church (D-Idaho).

Keep ReadingShow less
In and Out: The Limits of Term Limits

Person speaking in front of an American flag

Jason_V/Getty Images

In and Out: The Limits of Term Limits

Nearly 14 years ago, after nearly 12 years of public service, my boss, Rep. Todd Platts, surprised many by announcing he was not running for reelection. He never term-limited himself, per se. Yet he had long supported legislation for 12-year term limits. Stepping aside at that point made sense—a Cincinnatus move, with Todd going back to the Pennsylvania Bar as a hometown judge.

Term limits are always a timely issue. Term limits may have died down as an issue in the halls of Congress, but I still hear it from people in my home area.

Keep ReadingShow less
“It’s Probably as Bad as It Can Get”: A Conversation with Lilliana Mason

Liliana Mason

Credit: https://www.lillianamason.com/

“It’s Probably as Bad as It Can Get”: A Conversation with Lilliana Mason

In the aftermath of the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, the threat of political violence has become a topic of urgent concern in the United States. While public support for political violence remains low—according to Sean Westwood of the Polarization Research Lab, fewer than 2 percent of Americans believe that political murder is acceptable—even isolated incidence of political violence can have a corrosive effect.

According to political scientist Lilliana Mason, political violence amounts to a rejection of democracy. “If a person has used violence to achieve a political goal, then they’ve given up on the democratic process,” says Mason, “Instead, they’re trying to use force to affect government.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Combatting the Trump Administration’s Militarized Logic

Members of the National Guard patrol near the U.S. Capitol on October 1, 2025 in Washington, DC.

(Photo by Al Drago/Getty Images)

Combatting the Trump Administration’s Militarized Logic

Approaching a year of the new Trump administration, Americans are getting used to domestic militarized logic. A popular sense of powerlessness permeates our communities. We bear witness to the attacks against innocent civilians by ICE, the assassination of Charlie Kirk, and we naturally wonder—is this the new American discourse? Violent action? The election of Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York offers hope that there may be another way.

Zohran Mamdani, a Muslim democratic socialist, was elected as mayor of New York City on the fourth of November. Mamdani’s platform includes a reimagining of the police force in New York City. Mamdani proposes a Department of Community Safety. In a CBS interview, Mamdani said, “Our vision for a Department of Community Safety, the DCS, is that we would have teams of dedicated mental health outreach workers that we deploy…to respond to those incidents and get those New Yorkers out of the subway system and to the services that they actually need.” Doing so frees up NYPD officers to respond to actual threats and crime, without a responsibility to the mental health of civilians.

Keep ReadingShow less
© Copyright 2025