The Trump administration has laid off thousands amid cost-cutting efforts.
Topline
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is expected to announce 10,000 employees will be cut, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday—the latest round of layoffs in the Trump administration’s push to slash the size of the federal workforce.Key Facts
Health and Human Services: The cuts Kennedy is expected to announce would shrink about a quarter of the department’s workforce, according to the Journal, which reported internal documents show plans to close five regional offices, cut about 15% of FDA employees, 18% of employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 6% of National Institutes of Health workers and 4% of employees at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services as part of a department-wide reorganization that includes consolidation of some divisions and the creation of a new Administration for a Health America and Assistant Secretary of Enforcement to investigate Medicare-related disputes.
Department of Defense: The Pentagon aims to cut about 6,000 employees each month by not filling vacated positions, according to the Associated Press, citing an unnamed defense official, after the agency said in February it began laying off approximately 5,400 probationary workers, or 5% to 8% of its civilian staff, to comply with the Department of Government Efficiency’s workforce reduction plan. The fired probationary workers must be reinstated, according to a March 13 order from U.S. District Judge William Alsup that was upheld by a federal appeals court on March 18.
Department of Education: The agency announced on March 11 it would begin the process for laying off half of its workers, about 2,000 employees, and told staff its Washington, D.C., and regional offices would be closed Wednesday, as the Trump administration has expressed plans to shut down the agency, alleging its a symbol of bureaucratic bloat (the agency has already reportedly laid off dozens of probationary employees).
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: The agency is preparing to lay off more than 1,000 employees in a second round of layoffs that is expected to impact about 10% of its workforce, multiple outlets reported in mid-March, prompting fears it would affect the agency’s weather forecasting work ahead of hurricane season and other potential natural disasters.
Central Intelligence Agency: The agency has started to fire some probationary employees, multiple outlets reported, after firing some diversity staffers in February who had been placed on leave as part of the Trump administration’s push to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives across the federal government—it’s unclear what prompted the latest round of firings, but a federal judge ruled in February that CIA Director John Ratcliffe had the authority to fire officers at will.
Department of Veterans Affairs: The VA plans to cut more than 80,000 workers beginning in June in an attempt to return to 2019 staffing levels, its chief of staff, Christopher Syrek, reportedly said in an internal memo viewed by Reuters. The agency announced about 2,400 probationary employees were dismissed in mid-February in two waves, though Alsup ordered them to be reinstated in his March 13 ruling.
Internal Revenue Service: The IRS was preparing to reduce its nearly 100,000-person workforce by about 50% through layoffs and buyouts, multiple outlets reported in early March, with a reduction of 20% of staff by May 15, CNN reported March 13—after the Trump administration already laid off about 7,000 IRS workers and reportedly set out to close more than 110 offices in February, at the peak of tax season.
USAID: Thousands of employees were reportedly given 15-minute windows on Feb. 27 and 28 to clear their office spaces as the Trump administration has sought to dismantle the agency, firing or placing on leave 5,600 workers, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on March 10 that 83% of USAID programs had been shut down—though a federal judge on March 18 ordered the Trump administration to restore the agency’s functionality, ruling that shutting it down “likely violated the United States Constitution in multiple ways.”
Social Security Administration: The agency plans to cut its staff by about 7,000 employees, or 12%, according to multiple reports, while an unnamed source told the Associated Press the staffing cuts could amount to as much as 50% of its workforce, though the agency has rejected the report as “false” and a “rumor.”
Labor Department: The agency plans to reduce staff in an office that handles equal employment opportunity laws by 90%, The reported, though it’s unclear how many employees will be affected.
Environmental Protection Agency: Trump told reporters during his first Cabinet meeting that EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has expressed a desire to cut 65% of the EPA’s 18,000-some employees, as the Trump administration seeks to roll back Biden-era environmental protections—but the White House later said the comments were instead referring to a 65% cut in spending.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: The agency—which has open safety investigations into Elon Musk’s Tesla company—laid off 4% of its staff, a spokesman said in a statement that said the agency grew by 30% during President Joe Biden’s administration, noting it “retained positions critical to the mission of saving lives, preventing injuries, and reducing economic costs due to road traffic crashes.
