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Article snippet: on Friday aimed at cutting down on the time it takes to fire federal employees. White House officials announced the orders on a call with reporters before they were released later in the evening. The officials said the changes are aimed at saving taxpayers $100 million per year. Trump's directives emphasize a merit-based system for employees, while limiting the amount of time required before an agency can fire a federal employee. They also encourage agencies to fire poor-performing employees instead of first suspending them, and direct agencies to limit the amount of time a poor-performing employee is given the chance to show improvement. "Tenured Federal employees have stolen agency property, run personal businesses from work, and been arrested for using drugs during lunch breaks and not been fired," the White House said in a press release. “To empower our civil servants to best help others, the government must always operate more efficiently and more securely," Trump said in a statement included in the release. The orders call for federal workers to devote at least 75 percent of their on-the-clock time to work-related purposes, direct agencies to reward "performance over seniority" and push agencies to renegotiate contracts with unions, among other provisions. White House officials said on the call that many of the provisions were part of a wish list the Trump administration delivered to Congress that has yet to be acted on. "The president called on Congress .... Link to the full article to read more