More than 275,000 United States federal civil service layoffs have been announced by the second Trump administration. , the New York Times tracked more than 58,000 confirmed cuts, more than 76,000 employee buyouts, and more than 149,000 other planned reductions; cuts total 12% of the 2.4 million civilian federal workers.<ref name="Shao/NYT"></ref> , CNN has tracked at least 121,361 workers laid off or targeted for layoffs. In limited cases, the administration has rescinded layoff notifications.
The administration's efforts to shrink the size of the federal workforce have been facilitated by the Department of Government Efficiency, and taken place in overlapping stages, including: a January executive order to remove due process employment protections from civil servants; a January "deferred-resignation" deal; the unilateral closing of several agencies, including the United States Agency for International Development and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The longest-running stage began on the first day of President Donald Trump's second term in office: an effort to terminate tens of thousands of "probationary employees"—generally, workers hired, transferred, or promoted within the past year, and inciting a protest on President's Day. A much greater number of federal workers are slated to be dismissed in a series of agency reductions in force (RIF). On February 26, agency leaders were ordered to submit plans for these RIFs by March 14.
The mass layoffs have garnered a response, and have been met by lawsuits. The Trump administration has called this an effort to reduce federal government expenditures, reduce the ability of the federal government to regulate business, and reduce the role of the federal government in U.S. society. Opponents of the effort say it is a hasty, ill-conceived effort that is reducing crucial and beneficial services, violating the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988, and increasing the power of the presidency.
Background.
During his campaign for a second term, Trump inveighed against "bureaucrats", and said he would inquire about the necessity of employing them. At rallies and events, he said federal workers were "destroying this country", called them "crooked" and "dishonest", and that they "don't work at all". He spread conspiracy theories that a "deep state" of government workers and Democrats in government were actively working against him and America, and promised to remove them when in power.
After winning the 2024 presidential election, he tapped billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, the largest single donor to his campaign, to lead a new initiative, dubbed the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), to carry out mass layoffs and other measures. Trump appointed Elon Musk a senior advisor to the president, and the multi­billionaire has played a central role in shaping federal layoffs, advocating for rapid downsizing to eliminate inefficiencies. Musk has pushed for automation and privatization. Musk has posted about and celebrated the terminations on social media.
In 2023, the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 laid out policies for shrinking government agencies, increasing White House power over the executive branch, and casting civil servants as obstructive to conservative agendas, and replacing them with loyalists more willing to enable the next Republican president's policies. Such measures have already been started at the end of Trump's first term, when he nominated Russ Vought as the Acting administrator of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). During that time, Trump sought to remove civil-service protections for thousands of federal employees by reclassifying their jobs as political positions. His administration moved U.S. Department of Agriculture research offices to Kansas from Washington D.C. despite complaints by USDA economists who didn't wish to relocate. During his campaign, Trump promised to nominate Vought for the same role, and Congress approved him on February 6.
Implementation.
The shrinking of the federal workforce has taken place in several overlapping stages.
"Schedule F" removal for-cause civil-service protection.
On January 28, 2025, Trump issued an executive order to strip legal protections "from political firings" for thousands of federal employees.
Deferred resignation program.
Also on January 28, the administration offered a "deferred-resignation" deal that, by mid-February, about 75,000 federal workers accepted.
Firings of probationary employees.
On February 13, Charles Ezell, acting director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, signed a directive instructing federal agencies to dismiss probationary employees—generally, federal workers who have held their jobs less than a year, or had been promoted into the excepted service during that time. Ezell told agencies to tell the fired employees that their performance was inadequate, and that they needed to cite no evidence.
Alleged reasons for termination.
Depending on the agency, employees were given notices that read that either the agency "no longer has a need for your services," or it had "determined that you have failed to demonstrate fitness or qualifications for continued employment because your subject matter knowledge, skills and abilities do not meet the department's current needs." Another variant read "unfortunately, the agency finds that you are not fit for continued employment because your ability, knowledge and skills do not fit the Agency's current needs, and your performance has not been adequate to justify further employment at the Agency." Even though a cause was alleged poor performance, some employees had either received the maximum possible rating or had not had their performance reviewed. Others had received "stellar performance evaluations" the previous year.
Rescission of some layoffs.
In some cases, the Trump administration subsequently realized that it had laid off people in critical positions and needed to reinstate them, as with Department of Agriculture employees engaged in efforts to combat the spread of the H5N1 bird flu virus and National Nuclear Security Administration employees. Since former federal employees no longer had access to their government email accounts, supervisors were sometimes uncertain how to contact them. The Food and Drug Administration rehired some staff responsible for reviewing medical devices and food safely. Hours after laying off 950 Indian Health Service employees on February 14, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services, reinstated them.
Reductions in force.
On February 13, OMB Director Vought and OPM Acting Director Ezell ordered federal agencies to send them plans by March 13 to slash their workforces through layoffs. They said the agencies "should focus on employees whose jobs are not required in statute and who face furloughs in government shutdowns—typically around one-third of the federal workforce, or 700,000 employees."
Email directive mandating role justification.
On February 22, 2025, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) sent an email to all federal employees mandating that they must provide a summary of their work each week. The email read "Please reply to this email with approx. 5 bullets of what you accomplished last week and cc your manager. Please do not send any classified information, links, or attachments." Many emails were marked with a red exclamation mark or sent with high importance. In a post on X, Musk added that "failure to respond will be taken as a resignation."
Several agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the State Department, the Defense Department, and the Department of Health and Human Services, told their employees to "pause" any response to the email. Judges and judiciary staff who received the email were advised by the Administrative Office of the US Courts to take "no action" in response, with "Bloomberg Law" noting that "The emails to judges and federal court employees could represent an improper intrusion into the judiciary by the executive branch, in breach of the Constitution's mandated separation of powers." One employee union, the American Federation of Government Employees, challenged the OPM's legal authority to require responses. Another union, the National Federation of Federal Employees, said that it would contest any disciplinary actions linked to the directive.
On February 24, OPM stated that responding to the initial email was voluntary. However, Musk tweeted that if employees still refused to respond, it would "result in termination".
On February 27, 2025, Judge William Alsup ruled that OPM does not have the authority to fire non-OPM employees and ordered the OPM memos to be rescinded, though the ruling did not reinstate any dismissed employees.
Analysis.
Trump's firings of senior military officers were disproportionately women, and others sometimes came after conservative organizations targeted specific individuals for criticism. As part of Trump's efforts to root out "DEI" initiatives in the federal government, agencies with the highest planned workforce reductions and dismissals were also those with the highest percentages of women, minority, and Black employees.
Agencies.
Agency for International Development.
On January 24, 2025, President Donald Trump ordered a near-total freeze on the distribution of foreign aid. Several days later, Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a waiver for humanitarian aid.
The Trump administration fired nearly all United States Agency for International Development employees—both civil and foreign service—by placing nearly everyone on administrative leave to cut the workforce from over 10,000 to roughly 300, disrupting humanitarian programs and prompting lawsuits from groups like the American Foreign Service Association.
More than 1,000 Agency for International Development (USAID) employees and contractors were fired or furloughed after the freeze. Matt Hopson, the USAID chief of staff appointed by the Trump administration, resigned. It was announced that on February 6, 2025, at 11:59 pm (EST) all USAID direct-hire employees would be placed on administrative leave, except designated people responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership, and specially designated programs. On February 6, the number of retained employees was reported to be 294 out of 10,000.
AmeriCorps.
On April 18, the Associated Press reported that 85% of AmeriCorps 500 full-time federal workers have been placed on administrative leave with pay.
Department of Transportation.
Employees who give support to Starlink and SpaceX were spared from DOGE cuts.
Federal Aviation Administration.
In February 2025, the Trump administration fired several hundred Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employees, primarily those in their probationary period. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said about 400 employees were affected, none of whom were air traffic controllers or held critical safety positions. However, the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists union said the firings included maintenance mechanics and aviation safety assistants: "More than 130 of the eliminated workers held jobs that directly or indirectly support the air traffic controllers, facilities and technologies that the FAA uses to keep planes and their passengers safe," as "Politico" put it. These actions have drawn criticism, especially in the wake of a January fatal mid-air collision near Washington, D.C.
Environmental Protection Agency.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) terminated over 300 probationary employees—including staff tasked with enforcing regulations under the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts and reviewing environmental permits—which could delay critical oversight functions and compromise timely responses to pollution and disaster events. In some regions, decisions were later partially reversed, highlighting administrative inconsistencies amid broader federal workforce cuts. Analysts caution that these staffing reductions may hinder the agency's capacity to maintain environmental safeguards and public health protections during a period of significant regulatory review and enforcement challenges.
Federal workers have protested and spoken out against the firings of EPA employees. The actions affected EPA employees throughout the United States including in North Carolina and Ohio.
Department of Defense.
On February 20, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced plans to fire some of the department's probationary employees—about 5,400 of the department's 55,000, officials said later. Hegseth said he would then impose a hiring freeze and begin planning a 5- to 8-percent cut of the department's roughly 760,000-person civilian workforce. On March 3, department officials began placing probationary employees on administrative leave, telling Congress that they intended to fire the workers within 14 to 21 days.
Department of Agriculture.
A total of 5,600 USDA employees were fired in early 2025. The department has announced widespread layoffs, the closure of its DC headquarters, and its relocation to three hubs around the country.
Natural Resources Conservation Service.
The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) fired about 1,200 employees in Oklahoma, Idaho, and Kansas. The cuts affected NRCS' conservation planners, natural resources scientists, and technical roles that supported implementing soil and water conservation projects, among other things. This reduction jeopardizes critical technical assistance for farmers and ranchers, potentially disrupting efforts to mitigate soil erosion and maintain sustainable agricultural practices. The mass layoffs of Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists have disrupted critical agricultural research, including projects on climate impact, pest control, and conservation practices, potentially undermining billions in taxpayer-funded farm subsidies. Experts warn that these cuts will hinder the USDA's ability to implement key climate policies and waste resources already invested in long-term scientific studies.
Forest Service.
The Trump administration fired about 3,400 U.S. Forest Service (USFS) employees, primarily probationary employees constituting about 10% of its workforce. Experts warn that this will impair efforts to prevent wildfires and restore forests, leaving critical tasks such as trail maintenance, watershed protection, and fuel reduction understaffed and potentially driving up homeowner insurance costs in vulnerable areas. Concerns were expressed by political leaders in Colorado.
Department of the Interior.
The Trump administration fired about 2,300 employees from the Department of the Interior, including about 800 from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Some argue that these layoffs could hurt the management of public lands, with concerns about reduced capacity for essential functions such as wildfire response and land-use planning. "The Guardian" interviewed people who received termination notices.
National Park Service.
About 1,000 National Park Service (NPS) employees were fired, including maintenance workers and scientists. The move raised concerns about staffing shortages, potentially reducing park workforces by up to 20%. Critics argue that these layoffs could undermine park operations, disrupt conservation efforts, and reduce visitor services, especially with peak season approaching. The affected areas include major parks such as Yosemite, where protests have erupted over fears of park closures, waste management issues, and increased hazards due to reduced staffing. Additionally, the Golden Gate National Recreation Area in the Bay Area has experienced terminations, leading to concerns about operational challenges in maintaining the park's 82,000 acres and accommodating its 15.6 million annual visitors.
Department of Veterans Affairs.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) dismissed over 1,000 probationary employees, including researchers focused on mental health, cancer treatments, addiction recovery, prosthetics, and burn pit exposure. Lawmakers such as Sen. Patty Murray and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz have criticized the decision, expressing concerns over potential staffing shortages and its impact on veteran care.
Department of Health and Human Services.
About 5,200 probationary employees at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) received termination notices, with around 1,300 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and others from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The Trump administration terminated dozens of researchers at a leading Alzheimer's research center under the NIH. Critics argue that these cuts could slow critical advancements in dementia treatment, jeopardizing ongoing clinical trials and research into potential cures. On March 27, 2025, the Trump administration cuts of 20,000 jobs from the department.
Department of the Treasury.
Internal Revenue Service.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) fired about 6,000 to 7,000 probationary employees. These layoffs, occurring during the peak tax-filing season, have raised concerns about potential delays in tax return processing, reduced customer service, and diminished enforcement capabilities during a critical period. These actions have prompted criticism from tax professionals and lawmakers, who fear that the downsizing may erode taxpayer compliance and confidence in the tax system as well as significantly reducing the amount of revenue collected by the IRS. The administration also plans to transfer some IRS employees to the Department of Homeland Security for immigration enforcement. At least 120 employees were fired from the Large Business and International division of the IRS, which audits individuals and companies with more than $10 million in assets and whose audits recoup large amounts of money for the IRS.
Department of Energy.
About 1,200 to 2,000 Department of Energy (DOE) employees were fired, affecting critical areas such as the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), the Loan Programs Office, and power grid management. These layoffs raised concerns about the stability of the nation's nuclear security and energy infrastructure. For instance, less than 50 NNSA employees were dismissed, prompting fears over nuclear safety and operational continuity. Energy Secretary Chris Wright later admitted mistakes were made in firing NNSA employees. "The Washington Post" reported that the firings created a crisis at the agency.
Bonneville Power Administration.
In February 2025, about 130 of the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA)'s 3,000-plus employees were fired, with an additional 300 positions eliminated through buyouts and early retirements, totaling nearly 20% of its workforce. These cuts raised concerns about the reliability of the Pacific Northwest's electrical grid, as BPA manages a substantial portion of the region's power infrastructure. In response to public outcry and potential risks to grid stability, the administration reinstated 30 critical employees responsible for maintaining high-voltage power lines. Some Washington state leaders have criticized the firings.
Department of Education.
The Department of Education implemented workforce reductions, including layoffs at the Office for Civil Rights, which investigates discrimination complaints in schools.
Federal Reserve.
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Russell Vought launched mass layoffs that threatened to cut up to 1,750 employees, or about 95% of its workforce. Reports indicated that between 70 and 100 term employees had already been dismissed as part of this purge.
General Services Administration.
By March 2025, entire regions of GSA had been effectively fired, including 90% of its roughly 200 employees in the northwest region of the Public Buildings Service. It also saw virtually all employees fired for the Office of the Chief Financial Officer totaling 100 firings, along with at least 600 firings in last week of February. GSA Acting Administrator Stephen Ehikian promised more firings to come, with senior executives creating a "murder board" of positions to cut. GSA's Public Buildings Service is targeting a 63% total workforce cut, roughly 3,557 positions.
Elon Musk announced on X that 18F "has been deleted," hinting at its demise before the Trump administration fired roughly 90 federal technologists. The affected employees, part of the General Services Administration's 18F team, were notified around midnight that their roles were being eliminated as part of an agency reduction-in-force. 18F, established during the Obama era to modernize government software, was dismantled in this push for modernization.
Merit Systems Protection Board.
The United States Merit Systems Protection Board is an independent U.S. federal government agency whose function is to protect career civil service employees from arbitrary firings. In February 2025, Trump removed a Democratic member of the board, Cathy Harris, who had served three years of her term, and demoted the other Democratic member. Harris then sued the Trump administration, alleging that her removal was illegal. In March 2025, a U.S. District judge, citing U.S. Supreme Court cases from 1933 and 1953, entered a permanent injunction ordering that she be reinstated.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was supposed to lay off 10% of its workforce on February 18, after about 750 employees accepted the deferred-resignation deal. Late in the day, the OPM rescinded the termination notice for NASA. Some sources alleged that nominated administrator Jared Isaacman asked to delay the layoffs. NASA advised their employees to delay any interaction with the OPM email sent on February 22.
Lawsuits.
Several entities have sued the Trump administration over the mass layoffs.
Employee unions lawsuit in U.S. District Court in DC.
On February 13, 2025, several employee unions filed suit against CEO Elon Musk's involvement in the administration, alleging that the "mass firing of employees and the attempt to force resignations across the federal civilian workforce violate separation of powers principles." The unions include the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), the National Federation of Federal Employees, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, and the United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America. NTEU President Doreen Greenwald said, "There is no doubt that the administration's actions are an illegal end-run on Congress, which has the sole power to create and oversee federal agencies."
On February 20, District of Columbia district court judge Christopher R. Cooper rejected the unions' suit, ruling that federal law required them to bring their challenge to the Federal Labor Relations Authority rather than a federal court. Musk celebrated the judge's ruling by posting photos of himself carrying a chainsaw at CPAC to his X account, claiming that he was helping people by shifting them "from low to negative productivity jobs in the government sector to high productivity roles in the commercial sector".
Employee unions lawsuit in U.S. District Court in California.
On February 19, 2025, five labor unions and five nonprofit organizations filed a complaint in U.S. District Court in California. On February 27, U.S. District Judge William Alsup granted temporary relief, finding that the mass firings of probationary employees were likely illegal. On March 13, Alsup ordered the Defense Department and several other agencies to reinstate the employees, saying, "It’s a sad, sad day when our government would fire a good employee and say it’s based on performance when they know good and well that is based on a lie".
USAID lawsuit.
A lawsuit was filed on February 6 by the American Foreign Service Association and the American Federation of Government Employees in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, requesting a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against the administration, claiming that it violated separation of powers, the Take Care Clause of the Constitution, and the Administrative Procedure Act and requesting that all attempts to shut down the agency be halted, all recent actions be reversed, and a new acting director be appointed.
The following day, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, nominated by President Trump in 2019, entered a temporary restraining order, pausing the government's plan to put thousands of employees on leave and accelerate removal of overseas workers. The restraining order was initially valid for one week and was extended for a second week. Though Nichols had argued that Trump's actions threaten the safety of USAID workers abroad (many of whom are deployed in unstable regions), on February 21, he decided not to further extend his restraining order.
CFPB lawsuit.
In response to layoffs at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, employee unions and advocacy groups—including the National Treasury Employees Union and the NAACP—filed a lawsuit challenging Vought's sweeping actions. The suit argued that terminating such a vast majority of the workforce would dismantle the CFPB's statutory mission and violate due process rights. Consequently, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson issued a temporary restraining order that halted further terminations, prevented the destruction or removal of sensitive data, and blocked the transfer of reserve funds until a preliminary injunction hearing could be held.
Merit Systems Protection Board lawsuit.
In February 2025, Trump removed a member of the United States Merit Systems Protection Board, Cathy Harris. Harris then sued. In March 2025, a U.S. district judge ordered that she be reinstated, but later in the month, the appeals court ruled that her termination could take effect while the lawsuit proceeded.
Impact.
Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmondson said that the layoffs also affect remaining workers. "The impact is intimidation and fear". Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, had said before the election that "We want the bureaucrats to be traumatically affected. When they wake up in the morning, we want them to not want to go to work... We want to put them in trauma." On May 20, 2025, "The Washington Post" reported that the plan to put federal workers in trauma was working, and that several dozen interviewed by the paper were suffering from panic attacks, depression, and suicidal thoughts. "USA Today" reported on the chaotic rollout of the mass firings leading to a "roller coaster" of being "fired, rehired and threatened with firing again".
By the end of May 2025, the cuts had "effectively wiped out" several federal departments and agencies, such as the Department of Education, AmeriCorps, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. On June 1, "Reuters" reported that the mass firings had threatened safety training for dangerous jobs, with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health particularly affected.
The cuts were particularly felt in federal agencies hubs, like the Kansas City metropolitan area.
Reaction.
Some federal workers who voted for Trump and were fired have given interviews in the news media.
Protesters have described the mass layoffs as a purge, calling them unfair, illegal, and risky.
According to "The New York Times", "state and local governments have been actively recruiting federal workers impacted by the Trump administration’s effort to dramatically reduce the federal work force."