Which federal workers are out of a job?
The Trump administration has eliminated thousands of federal positions across various agencies, including the CDC and Forest Service. Here’s who has been affected.
President Donald Trump’s mass layoffs of permanent federal employees have commenced and are set to intensify over the coming weeks, with tens of thousands more employees facing termination. These layoffs did not happen without warning.
This week, federal agencies must submit plans for workforce reductions to Trump administration officials, which will lead to a significant downsizing of the nation’s more than 2 million federal employees over the next few months. In addition to layoffs, many agencies are expected to extend hiring freezes indefinitely, eliminate vacancies, and consolidate offices as measures to reduce employees.
Steered by billionaire Elon Musk and his Department Of Government Efficiency aides, Trump has spent his initial weeks in office working to dismantle the federal government, including closing down the United States Agency for International Development and taking steps to do the same with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Additionally, Trump has started to dismantle the Department of Education by cutting nearly half of its workforce.
After a buyout offer was accepted by fewer federal employees than anticipated, tens of thousands of probationary federal workers have faced termination. Probationary workers are those in their first year or two of employment, employees who have recently transitioned between federal agencies, and those who were recently promoted.
The firings have impacted all 50 states and include employees from agencies frequently interacted with by Americans, such as the National Park Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Veterans Affairs, Internal Revenue Service, and National Institutes of Health, among others.
The White House has not responded to multiple requests from USA TODAY for an exact count of the terminated employees. Here’s a timeline of the evolution of Trump’s workforce firings, starting from Inauguration Day.
Jan. 20: Trump signs executive order altering job classifications
Among his initial actions as president, Trump enacted an executive order that reinstates a policy from the closing days of his first administration known as Schedule F. This directive introduces a new employment classification for tens of thousands of nonpartisan career civil servants, effectively removing their job protections by reclassifying them as at-will positions, which allows them to be dismissed for nearly any reason.
An additional executive order put a hold on hiring federal civilian employees in the executive branch. This stated that any federal civilian positions that were vacant when Trump took office cannot be filled, and no new positions may be created, except in rare circumstances.
Jan. 28: Buyout offer made to federal employees
The Trump administration provided buyouts to nearly all 2.3 million federal employees. The offer came as an unexpected email that hit inboxes at 6:04 p.m. on Jan. 28, titled: “The Fork in the Road.”
In the email, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management encouraged all federal employees to resign by Feb. 6 in exchange for eight months of pay and benefits through September. Labor unions cautioned workers contemplating Trump’s offer that there’s no assurance the president can or will uphold it since Congress hasn’t sanctioned funding for federal agencies beyond March 14.
Jan. 29: Union files lawsuit over reclassification of federal employees
Unions representing federal employees launched a lawsuit against the Trump administration to prevent the implementation of the Schedule F executive order, claiming it is designed to politicize the federal workforce by removing job protections from federal workers.
Feb. 4: USAID employees placed on administrative leave
Approximately 10,000 employees from the United States Agency for International Development – two-thirds of whom are stationed overseas in 60 different countries – were informed that they would be placed on administrative leave at week’s end, as a part of Trump’s initiative to dismantle the foreign aid agency.
Feb. 5: Government warns of potential furloughs
The Trump administration alerted federal employees that they might face furloughs if they did not accept the buyout offer, as revealed in an email obtained by USA TODAY.
The email cautioned employees that many would lose their civil-service protections and suggested possible loyalty tests for employees who remain.
Feb. 6: A Boston judge temporarily halts the buyout acceptance deadline
U.S. District Judge George O’Toole issued a temporary restraining order that paused the Trump administration’s buyout acceptance deadline, allowing time for labor unions to legally challenge the plan. The American Federation of Government Employees and two other unions filed a lawsuit asserting that the administration lacks any statutory authority for this “unprecedented offer.”
Attorneys for the Trump administration contended that extending the deadline at the last minute would “disrupt the expectations of the federal workforce, inject significant uncertainty into a program that numerous federal employees have already participated in, and impede the administration’s efforts to reform the federal workforce.”
On the same day, the administration directed all federal department and agency heads to compile lists of their lowest-performing employees.
The order from the OPM’s Acting Director Charles Ezell also requested agencies to identify potential barriers to swiftly terminating underperforming employees who neither improve nor comply.
Feb. 7: Trump dismisses the head of the Office of Special Counsel
An aide to Trump dismissed Hampton Dellinger, the head of the Office of Special Counsel, via a one-sentence email on the night of Feb. 7. Dellinger responded with a lawsuit, claiming that the 1978 federal law establishing his position states he can only be removed for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance.
Probationary employees typically depend on the special counsel for support when contesting a dismissal through standard government channels rather than pursuing a lawsuit.
Feb. 10: Trump terminates leaders of the Merit Systems Protection Board
In a matter of minutes, Trump dismissed the heads of two other boards where federal workers can contest their dismissals. Union challenges to these dismissals have been denied, as they haven’t gone through these boards first.
Trump terminated Merit Systems Protection Board chair Cathy Harris just before 11 p.m., leaving the board with only two members – Raymond Limon, a Democrat whose term expired on March 1, and Henry Kerner, a Republican. A court later temporarily reinstated Harris, whose term lasts until 2028, after she filed a suit. The Merit Systems Protection Board is responsible for shielding federal workers from partisan politics and unlawful employment practices, but it cannot function without a quorum.
Trump also ousted the chair of the Federal Labor Relations Authority, Susan Grundmann, just minutes before dismissing Cathy Harris. The authority manages certain complaints from federal workers’ unions.
Grundmann has taken legal action to be reinstated, but in the short term, Trump has appointed Colleen Kiko, a Republican member, as chair, overseeing only one other member, Democrat Anne Wagner.
On Feb. 10, a court provisionally reinstated Dellinger, who then requested the Merit Systems Protection Board to temporarily suspend the terminations of six probationary employees across six agencies and to reinstate them during his investigation of their circumstances.
Feb. 11: Trump enacts new EO for substantial workforce reductions
Trump signed an executive order on Feb. 11 that aims to notably shrink the size of the government, instructing heads of federal departments and agencies to outline plans for “large-scale reductions in force.”
A summary from the White House stated that agency heads were directed to “coordinate and consult with DOGE to reduce the size of the federal workforce and limit hiring to essential roles.”
According to the order, federal agencies are not permitted to hire more than one employee for every four that leave. It also mandated the U.S. Office of Personnel Management to draft new regulations to ensure that future federal hires adhere to additional conduct standards, such as U.S. citizenship and timely federal tax return filings.
Feb. 12: Judge permits buyouts to proceed
Judge O’Toole decided in favor of Trump’s buyout initiative, stating that the unions representing federal employees who sued to terminate the program did not have legal standing and that his court does not possess jurisdiction to address their complaint.
Ultimately, approximately 75,000 federal employees accepted the buyout offer from President Donald Trump, amounting to around 3.3% of the federal workforce, which was lower than the White House’s projections of 5% to 10% acceptance. Congress has not yet allocated funding for the upcoming year or confirmed that buyouts would be included.
Feb. 13: Thousands of probationary employees are terminated
Numerous recently-hired federal workers received termination notices.
Probationary employees are easier to dismiss due to their lack of bargaining rights compared to career employees when appealing their terminations. The firings spanned multiple agencies: from the Department of Education and Small Business Administration to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Forest Service, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the agency responsible for the nation’s nuclear weapons fleet.
These dismissals have persisted in the following weeks, including over 880 probationary employees from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – responsible for weather forecasting and ocean species protection – laid off on Thursday.
Feb. 20: Unions file lawsuit over the firing of probationary employees
A coalition of federal employee unions filed a lawsuit against the administration, alleging that officials abused the probationary period to eliminate staff and that the Office of Personnel Management instructed federal agencies to use standardized termination notices that falsely cited performance issues when firing tens of thousands of workers.
“OPM, the federal agency tasked with enforcing the nation’s employment laws, has executed one of the most expansive employment frauds in the nation’s history by misleading tens of thousands of workers into believing they were fired for performance issues when they were not,” the unions declared in court filings.
Feb. 22: Five accomplishments or resign
Musk announced on his social media platform, X, instructing federal workers to document their weekly accomplishments via email or face resignation.
“In line with President @realDonaldTrump’s directives, all federal employees will soon receive an email requesting a summary of their accomplishments from the previous week,” the post read. “Failing to respond will be treated as a resignation.”
The email sent did not specify any termination or disciplinary repercussions for employees who failed to respond quickly, however, it created apprehension as workers received conflicting guidance from agencies regarding whether they should respond.
“What did you accomplish last week?” the emails asked. “Please reply to this email with approximately five bullets summarizing your contributions from the past week and cc your manager.”
Feb. 24: Office of Special Counsel declares the termination of probationary employees was illegal
Dellinger, head of the Office of the Special Counsel, indicated that the firing of probationary employees was unlawful since it employed standard phrasing attributing blame for performance rather than specifying individual concerns, and requested the Merit Systems Protection Board to determine whether to reinstate six employees during his further investigation.
Federal law usually mandates a 60-day notice for workforce reductions (termed layoffs in the federal context) and prohibits the dismissal of probationary employees for reasons unrelated to performance or conduct.
Feb. 25: Merit Systems Protection Board reinstates some probationary employees
The Merit Systems Protection Board ordered rehiring of six dismissed federal employees at least until April 10, while Dellinger’s office conducts an investigation.
“I find there are reasonable grounds to believe that each of the six agencies engaged in a prohibited personnel practice,” stated the order. The Office of Special Counsel is also considering ways to seek remedy for a broader group of federal employees similarly dismissed in recent weeks.
Feb. 26: New directives for mass layoffs targeting civil service employees
The Trump administration directed heads of federal departments and agencies to create strategies for commencing “large-scale reductions in force” by March 13.
A memo issued from the offices of Personnel Management and Management and Budget also instructed federal agencies to eliminate and consolidate redundant positions, lower their property footprints, and draft reorganization strategies for their agencies.
Federal employees with full civil service protections are likely to be prioritized. Workers from the U.S. Postal Service, positions deemed essential for law enforcement, national security, and immigration obligations, as well as military personnel, are exempted.
The memo also instructed federal agencies to provide new organizational charts by April 14, as well as any proposed relocations of agency offices or headquarters from Washington to more cost-effective areas of the country.
Feb. 27: California judge obstructs the firing of probationary employees
Judge William Alsup, from the U.S. District Court in Northern California, temporarily blocked the Trump administration from proceeding with mass firings of probationary federal employees.
Alsup indicated that the widespread firings were likely unlawful and instructed the Office of Personnel Management to cease its actions, asserting that the agency had overstepped by instructing other agencies – including the Education Department, the Small Business Administration, and the Energy Department – to terminate employees.
“OPM does not possess any authority whatsoever, under any statute, to hire or fire any employees, except its own,” Alsup stated. The judge did not mandate the reinstatement of any individuals who had already been dismissed.
Feb. 28: A second request for accomplishments
The administration issued a second series of emails to federal employees requesting them to document their weekly achievements. This latest directive was communicated from agency leaders rather than DOGE.
March 5: Firings delegated to agencies
Following Alsup’s ruling, the Trump administration informed federal departments that decisions regarding the termination of probationary employees were now up to the agencies themselves.
The revised guidelines from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management state that “OPM is not instructing agencies to undertake any specific performance-related actions concerning probationary employees,” and added that “agencies are responsible for making ultimate decisions in personnel actions.”
On the same day, the Merit Systems Protection Board mandated the U.S. Department of Agriculture to reinstate a terminated employee, along with “a number” of other probationary employees dismissed on Feb. 13 and later.
This ruling came at the request of the Office of Special Counsel, who argued that the firings violated federal regulations concerning probationary employees and layoffs because they employed a form letter that the Department of Agriculture used for nearly 6,000 other probationary workers.
March 6: Trump authorized to fire special counsel
A federal appeals court ruled that Trump had the authority to dismiss Dellinger, the leader of the Office of the Special Counsel, who argued that the termination of probationary employees was illegal due to the use of boilerplate language. Dellinger has stated he will not appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Trump administration announced plans to replace Dellinger with Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins, whose agency is laying off workers whose primary avenue to contest their dismissals is to turn to the Office of the Special Counsel.
March 12: Member reinstated on the Federal Labor Relations Authority
U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan reversed Trump’s February 10 removal of Grundmann, a Democratic member from the Federal Labor Relations Authority, through a permanent injunction requiring the board to treat Grundmann as if she had not been dismissed.
The authority addresses disputes between federal agencies and the unions of their employees and could play a significant role in likely legal battles concerning the mass layoffs.
What to expect?
Officials from federal departments and agencies have until Thursday to prepare and present strategies for implementing “large-scale reductions in force,” as Trump transitions to a more aggressive phase of downsizing the federal workforce beyond those recently hired or promoted.
Among the expected reductions, as reported by USA TODAY, are terminations for 76,000 employees from the Department of Veterans Affairs, 1,300 from the Department of Education, and more than 1,000 from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Trump has also openly mentioned potential cuts of up to 65% to the workforce at the Environmental Protection Agency.
Layoffs won’t be immediate, as agencies must provide 30 or 60 days’ notice to employees.
Contributions from USA TODAY reporters Joey Garrison, Bart Jansen, Maureen Groppe, Kayla Jimenez, Erin Mansfield, and Tom Vanden Brook were included.
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