The 2001 September 11 attacks gave George W. Bush the political support needed in order to launch civil service reforms in US agencies related to national security. At first these efforts primarily targeted the then-new Department of Homeland Security (DHS), but the Department of Defense (DOD) also received large reform efforts. According to Kellough, Nigro, and Brewer, such attempts included "restrictions on collective bargaining, such as the authority given to departmental secretaries (and, in the case of the DOD, other high-level officials as well) unilaterally to [repeal] negotiated agreements and the limitations imposed on employee rights in adverse actions." However, ultimately the efforts at civil service reform were undone. The DHS announced on 1 October, 2008 that it was abandoning the new civil service system and returning to the previous one.