I don’t know about the federal process, but at the state level, every position has to be justified. My unit of 8 people has been shaved by 2 positions already - one of them a supervisory spot - and we have a third wending it’s way up the long chain of review. The supervisor and the other position, we can live without. But the vacancy is for phone support of IT, and we have a TON of changes coming that make it vital to get that position filled.
Positions must be justified, yes, but typically the ones who approve them simply sign the proposal packages without actually reading them or don’t actually understand what it is that they’re reading.
I was hoping you’d chime in! :)