Facing the axe: The rise of job loss among federal employees

Following Donald Trump’s reelection, the government has undergone many changes compared to how it has been run in the past. One of the most unforeseen changes was firing thousands of federal workers.

More than 200,000 federal workers have lost their jobs in the past month. Elon Musk, the new head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has been finding ways to deconstruct many government agencies he deems unnecessary.

Many employees who have been let go are considered probationary employees, meaning they have been government employees for one to two years or long-term employees who have recently switched positions.

The DOGE has targeted many different agencies, including the Department of Education, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Energy, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Agriculture, Department of Health and Human Services, and Environmental Protection Agency.

A significant factor that went into these rapid-firing sprees was to put an end to working from home. Many agencies turned to remote working opportunities when COVID hit the U.S. in 2020. But since then, many departments have yet to return to in-person work.

President Donald Trump mandated that all federal employees return to in-office work starting February 24th. While many employees will be sent back to their regular jobs, the work-from-home era was an eye-opener to government officials. The Trump administration felt that many remote federal employees were logging unproductive hours and getting paid full-time to do minimal work.

The Trump administration offered all federal workers either on the chopping block or sitting with a steady job a “deferred resignation” that would provide eight months of pay and benefits if they quit. Elon Musk posted this statement on X, claiming that this buyout would save up to 100 billion dollars.

Many of these departments are experiencing downsizing due to several different reasons, each individual to their agency.

Elon Musk is accusing the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) of spending over 59 million dollars a week ago on luxury hotels in New York City to house illegal immigrants. He believes that the money being spent by FEMA is meant for American disaster relief.

FEMA states that they have not been sending money straight to these hotels but instead are spending money on behalf of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Congress passed this protection order in 2023 for the Shelter and Services Program, which was created to assist noncitizens who have been released by immigration authorities.

Another agency that has been affected is the Department of Education. Many employees in the education field are concerned with the idea of cutting out federal funding in school systems across the U.S.

One schoolteacher in Ohio states that federal funding for her school is an amenity that she sees and uses daily. She expresses that youth with learning disabilities, low income, or other educational boundaries could be suppressed of the resources needed to assist them if funds are cut.

Another teacher in Michigan states that federally funded programs are some of the only ways that certain students can connect when in school. Without these crucial programs, these students will be left out to dry.

President Donald Trump’s goal is to demolish the Department of Education and relinquish all control to the states.

Marguerite Roza is the head director of the Edunomics Lab, a research center primarily focused on education finance policy located at Georgetown University. “I don’t think that schools would suddenly lose money,” said Roza, despite the doubts that many teachers and individuals in the education field have.

While Trump has proved that he is willing to take action and make real changes in our government, talk about demolishing the Department of Education has been floating around since Ronald Reagan was in office. Dismantling this agency would take an act from Congress, which has not been supported in past years, and it is unclear if Congress will support the action this time.

These are just two examples of departments the Trump administration is attempting to abolish.

This mass firing spree is yet to cease; new developments are being released weekly.