Federal Workers Firings
As President Trump’s administration enters the conclusion of its first month in office, the downsizing of the federal government is in full force. It started with the Deferred Resignation Program, which offered federal employees the option to resign for continued pay through September of this year. That culled the workforce by about 75,000, and the program closed on Feb. 12
As for the next step in the process, the ongoing firing of federal workers is in full effect. While numbers are not exact, estimates as of Feb. 17 say the cuts top 12,000. The biggest hit was in the various health agencies, with approximately 5,200 probationary or recent hires being laid off. Probationary refers to employees within the probationary period of their employment before being full-time, which is about two years.
These firings have been in effect across many government departments and agencies, including the Office of Personnel Management, the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the U.S. Forest Service, the Department of Energy, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Small Business Administration, the Department of Education, the General Services Administration and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The Internal Revenue Service has also announced several layoffs of probationary employees, but no number can be confirmed. This is all in addition to more layoffs that could occur in the coming days and weeks.
As one could assume, there is a lot of backlash and disdain for these firings. Earlier this week, the Office of Personnel Management issued guidance advising against mass termination of federal employees. However, the administration moved forward anyway, laying off many with little to no notice.
Many of those laid off are recent hires, several of whom are new employees fresh out of undergrad. St. Lawrence University has many alumni in Washington, D.C. who have held various positions across the U.S. government. One of those is Isaiah Albright ’23, who is currently working at the Federal Trade Commission. He has been one of those fortunate enough to retain employment thus far. “Firing probationary employees, coerced resignations, talks of layoffs, and a full return to in-office have severely damaged the morale of the federal workforce,” noted Albright. “These policies have been implemented with little regard for practicality, logistics or the law. Some have been left without a job, others without a desk to work at,” he said. The mood in the federal workforce as detailed, is one not of joy, but now one of hesitancy and unease as to what could be next for each federal worker.
Albright discussed his own experience. “On the one hand, it has been hard and stressful for everyone, but on the other, it has strengthened the resolve of myself and many others to stay with our agencies and fulfill the oath we took to the American people and the Constitution,” he said.
This is all occurring while a mass federal hiring freeze is in place. After the hiring freeze concludes, the administration’s stated goal is to hire only one new employee for every four employees that were laid off.
The federal government in just a very short month has seen much change. Across all aspects and impacting all 2.4 million who have dedicated their time and effort to serving their country and as Albright mentioned, fulfilling their oath to the American people and the Constitution. To that end, we have entered a new environment of much uncertainty. One that will inevitably alter the framework of the federal workforce for years to come.