The Trump administration has brought the federal workforce down to its lowest levels in about 60 years, as indicated by recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. As of August, there were approximately 2.67 million federal employees, a decrease from just over 3 million when President Trump assumed office. This marks the lowest workforce size since 1966.
The administration believes these reductions will lead to significant savings. For instance, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) estimates that its Deferred Resignation Program could save over $20 billion annually. However, these cuts haven’t come without drawbacks.
According to a Treasury watchdog, revenue from IRS examinations dropped 35%, falling from around $10 billion in fiscal 2024 to $6.5 billion in fiscal 2025. This decline is attributed to significant workforce reductions that removed nearly 10,000 staff members focused on examination and collection.
In 2022, former President Joe Biden managed to secure nearly $80 billion for the IRS over a ten-year span to upgrade systems, enhance taxpayer service, and bolster the workforce, particularly in enforcement roles. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has sought additional cuts to the IRS budget for 2027.
It’s worth noting that not all departments have been affected equally by these cuts. The Departments of Education, Agriculture, and Housing and Urban Development have seen significant reductions, while staffing at the Department of Homeland Security, which manages a lot of Trump’s immigration policies, has mostly remained steady.
Interestingly, the Bureau of Labor Statistics doesn’t count about 1.35 million armed service members or around 100,000 employees in intelligence agencies as part of its workforce numbers. The move to pare down the federal workforce was a central promise during Trump’s 2024 campaign, where he criticized the government as being overly bloated.
The Government Accountability Office noted that agencies spent approximately $6.7 billion on employees participating in the Deferred Resignation Program, allowing them to collect paychecks while not working until their official departure. Additionally, the Partnership for Public Service estimated that $12.1 million was spent on rehiring workers who had previously been dismissed during the workforce cuts.
Despite the cuts, the Trump administration actually expended 3% more on federal salaries in its first year compared to the Biden administration during its initial year in office.
Looking ahead, if Republicans succeed in the midterm elections, Trump has proposed offering $5,000 checks to every adult American citizen. This promise, if realized, might cost between $1.2 trillion and $1.35 trillion.
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