Reducing the number of employees is not the same thing as reducing the size. To be clear, what I as a conservative want, is a reduction in the scope of the government. That may or may not require reducing the number of employees. Hopefully, that is what Trump is doing.
As a former budget director for a Fortune 500 Corp, I assure you that measurements like money, headcount, etc. define the size and scope of activity.
The departments and agencies of government are self-sustaining, when unchecked.
First comes the political will, to check them. Stop them. Shrink them.
Howard Jarvis, co-author of Prop. 13 in Calif. was NT a political figure. He was a businessman. He concluded the ONLY way to limit government, was to limit their funding.
Trump is on the right path. Don't quibble and parse every word and sentence.