Trump Administration Witnesses Exodus of Over 150,000 Federal Employees, According to Recent Study
Federal Workforce Reductions Under Trump Administration Reach Historic Levels
The federal workforce has experienced significant reductions since President Donald Trump took office, with the largest layoffs continuing through 2025, according to a report from Senate Democrats.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) released the report, which estimates that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has wasted $21.7 billion due to the deferred resignation program. The DOGE, headed by Elon Musk, a billionaire Trump ally, was responsible for these workforce reductions.
The White House has achieved these reductions through a combination of deferred resignation offers, early retirement programs, and layoffs. As a result, approximately 149,000 employees have left the federal government since President Trump took office.
The Washington Post published a report stating that the government is paying 154,000 employees not to work under its deferred resignation program. Max Stier, the president of the Partnership for Public Service, a nonprofit advocating for a more effective federal government, stated that these cuts have led to "phenomenal waste" and hurt critical government functions.
The largest workforce reductions have occurred in the Treasury, Agriculture, Defense, and Health and Human Services departments. While exact department-by-department breakdowns are not provided, these workforce cuts are described as "massive" and significant enough that some positions initially eliminated were later deemed essential and required re-hiring or reinstatement.
The U.S. Agency for International Development has lost around 10,000 employees, and the DOGE did not provide specific information about the number of employees affected by the deferred resignation program.
The report from Senate Democrats noted that the authors had to rely on news reports and make certain assumptions about the cuts. The Trump administration seemed intent on keeping Congress and the public in the dark about the cuts, as the report did not have access to internal government documents or data.
Regionally, the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area and surrounding states have experienced notable federal employment declines. From January through May 2025 alone, Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia collectively lost around 22,100 federal employees. Maryland and Virginia saw steeper percentage reductions (5.4% and 4.8%, respectively) compared to Washington, D.C. at 1.9%. The Washington-Arlington-Alexandria MSA saw a 3.7% reduction (about 14,100 jobs), and the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson MSA experienced a 5.4% reduction (around 3,000 jobs).
In summary, the federal workforce has shrunk substantially since Trump took office, with heavy layoffs continuing into 2025, concentrated especially in the D.C. metro area and nearby states. The overall scale exceeds a quarter-million jobs cut nationwide, indicating broad impacts across federal agencies although specific departments most affected are not detailed in the available data.
- The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), under Elon Musk's leadership and amidst President Trump's administration, implemented a deferred resignation program that has led to significant culture shifts within various federal agencies.
- The policy-and-legislation implications of these workforce reductions are substantial, with estimates suggesting that the government has wasted billions of dollars due to inefficiencies and the loss of critical personnel in vital departments such as Health and Human Services, Treasury, Agriculture, and Defense.
- General news outlets like The Washington Post and internal reports from Senate Democrats have highlighted the widespread impact of these reductions, with local economies, particularly in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area and surrounding states, experiencing a decline in employment opportunities due to the ongoing politics of workforce cuts.
