It can be done: Trump shrinks federal bureaucracy

In September, the federal government employed 2.68 million people. That number includes Postal Service employees, but not members of the military. It's a noticeable decline from the start of President Donald Trump's second term. In January 2025, the federal government employed more than 3 million people. That means Trump has reduced the federal workforce by more than 10%.

Most of those reductions occurred during the first year of his second term. Federal employment has remained under 2.7 million positions since January. Before this, the last time federal employment was under 2.7 million was in 1966. The Trump administration has moved aggressively to reduce the size of agencies throughout the government.

Although it would take an act of Congress, Trump wants to eliminate the Department of Education. Education Secretary Linda McMahon called it "our department's final mission." She and her team have been making progress. In a June report, the office of inspector general found the department had reduced its workforce by 40%. It had also ended more than 125 contracts worth $1.3 billion. It "terminated 90 grants with total obligations totaling $504 million." It also eliminated suboffices in "15 of the 17 department offices."

In January, Reuters reported that personnel cuts"have hit nearly every major federal agency." The Department of Agriculture and Department of Housing and Urban Development saw their staff drop by more than 25%. Some smaller agencies, including USAID and the Corporation of National and Community Service, have seen even sharper reductions.

The White House used a variety of tools to reduce staffing. It instituted a deferred resignation program that allowed employees to essentially quit their jobs but continue to be paid, sometimes for months. It laid off probationary employees. It required workers to return to the office, which led to some not returning at all. Some employees received "reduction in force" notices. Court challenges meant this process wasn't always smooth, but the results speak from themselves.

Now ask yourself: Did you notice?

Probably not. In other words, the federal workforce dropped by more than 10%, and it's likely this is the first you're hearing of it. No one wants individuals to lose their jobs, of course, but this suggests there were major inefficiencies within the federal bureaucracy. Given the sheer size of the federal government, that is more than plausible.

Conservatives have talked for years about the need to downsize the federal leviathan. Give credit to Trump for making it happen.

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