Thursday's deadline for federal agencies to submit plans for large-scale layoffs kicks off a new phase in the dramatic restructuring of how the government operates. Here's what that looks like.

The potential scale of President Donald Trump's efforts to shrink the U.S. federal government could become clearer on Thursday, the deadline for government agencies to submit plans for a second wave of mass layoffs and to slash their budgets.

Across the federal government, agencies face a Thursday deadline for their plans for widespread layoffs and reorganization. The cuts are part of a larger effort by President Donald Trump’s administration and his billionaire adviser Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to cut large numbers from the federal government.