Trump promises federal hiring freeze

It's not quite the "your fired" from Donald Trump's "The Apprentice", but the Republican presidential candidate has announced plans to trim the federal workforce.

In an Oct. 22 campaign speech delivered in Gettysburg, Pa., near the site of Abraham Lincoln's fabled address, Trump laid out a "closing argument" for his campaign and plans for the first 100 days of his administration.

The speech included the release of a "Contract for the American Voter," a set of promises with deliberate echoes of the "Contract with America" from congressional Republicans in the 1990s.

Second on Trump's list of promises is "a hiring freeze on all federal employees to reduce federal workforce through attrition (exempting military, public safety and public health)."

The move was teed up by the architect of the original contract, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. He said on Oct. 19 that he expected an overhaul of the federal employment system to be a priority in a Trump administration.

Trump's contract also includes a mandate to eliminate two existing federal regulations for every new one that is implemented. He is also looking to institute a five-year cooling-off period before exiting White House and congressional officials can become registered lobbyists. White House officials would face a lifetime ban on lobbying on behalf of foreign governments.

Also in the speech, Trump accused the media of failing to report the size of crowds at his campaign rallies, and threatened to sue women who have come forward with allegations of sexual harassment or other improprieties.