From Reuters:
“A comprehensive look at
DOGE’s firings and layoffs so far”
Thousands of federal government
employees have been shown the door in the first month of President Donald
Trump’s administration as the White House and its Department of Government
Efficiency fire both new and career workers, tell agency leaders to plan for
“large-scale reductions in force” and freeze trillions of dollars in federal
grant funds. It is affecting more than just the national capital region, home
to about 20% of the 2.4 million members of the civilian federal workforce,
which does not include military personnel and postal employees workers. More
than 80% of that workforce lives outside the Washington area. There is no
official figure available of the total firings or layoffs. The Associated Press
tallied how agencies are being affected based on AP reporting and statements
from lawmakers and employee unions. Here is a look at some of the broad and
specific ways federal agencies and employees are being affected by the
administration’s reductions, as of Wednesday:
‘Deferred resignation’
proposal for federal workers The White House offered a “deferred
resignation” proposal in exchange for financial incentives, like months of paid
leave, to almost all federal employees who opted to leave their jobs by Feb. 6.
But just before that deadline, a federal judge blocked Trump’s plan,
wanting to hear arguments from the administration and the labor unions, which
said the offer was illegal. According to the Office of Personnel
Management, about 75,000 federal employees had accepted the offer as of Feb.
12.
Probationary employee layoffs There
have also been wide-ranging layoffs of probationary employees — those generally
on the job for less than a year and who have yet to gain civil service
protection. Potentially hundreds of thousands are affected. On Feb. 13,
the administration ordered agencies to lay off nearly all such workers.
According to government data maintained by OPM, 220,000 federal employees had
less than a year on the job as of March 2024.
Department of Veterans Affairs
On Feb. 13, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced the dismissal of
more than 1,000 employees who had served for less than two years. According to
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., that included researchers working on cancer
treatment, opioid addiction, prosthetics and burn pit exposure.
Education Department At
least 39 people have been fired from the Education Department, including
special education specialists and student aid officials, according to a union
that represents agency workers. There have also been nearly $900 million
in cuts to the department’s Institute of Education Services, which tracks the
progress of America’s students. It is unclear to what degree the institute
would continue to exist. Industry experts said at least 169 contracts were
terminated Feb. 10.
Energy Department Hundreds
of federal employees tasked with working on the nation’s nuclear weapons
programs were laid off Feb. 13, but that move was largely rescinded hours
later, according to a memo obtained by the AP. Three U.S. officials who spoke
on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation said as many as 350 employees
at the National Nuclear Security Administration were ousted, with some losing
access to email before they had learned they were fired.
Department of Health and Human
Services The cuts include more than 5,000 employees at the Department of
Health and Human Services. At the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, nearly 1,300 probationary employees — roughly one-tenth of the
agency’s total workforce — are being forced out. The Atlanta-based agency’s
leadership was notified of the decision Feb. 14, according to a federal
official who was at the meeting and was not authorized to discuss the orders
and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Department of Homeland
Security The probationary cuts included more than 130 employees at the U.S.
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which oversees the nation’s
critical infrastructure, including the federal efforts to secure election
systems. It is not clear whether those included 17 employees who had worked on
election security and had already been placed on leave. Four employees
at the Federal Emergency Management Agency — its chief financial officer, two
program analysts and a grant specialist — were fired Feb. 11 over payments to
reimburse New York City for hotel costs for migrants.
Internal Revenue Service The
IRS will lay off thousands of probationary workers in the middle of tax season,
according to two people familiar with the agency’s plans who were not
authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
It is unclear how many IRS workers will be affected or when the cuts will
happen.
National Park Service The
administration has fired about 1,000 newly hired National Park Service
employees who maintain and clean parks, educate visitors and perform other
functions. The firings were not publicly announced but were confirmed by
Democratic senators and House members. Adding to the confusion, the park
service now says it is reinstating about 5,000 seasonal jobs that were
initially rescinded last month. Seasonal workers are routinely added
during the warm-weather months to serve more than 325 million annual visitors
who descend on the nation’s 428 parks, historic sites and other attractions.
Consumer Financial Protection
Bureau The administration has ordered the agency — created after the 2008
financial crisis and subprime mortgage-lending scandal — to stop nearly all its
work, effectively shutting it down.
Agriculture Department The
new agriculture secretary, Brooke Rollins, said on Feb. 14 that her agency had
invited Elon Musk’s DOGE team with “open arms” and that layoffs “will be
forthcoming.”
Foreign aid and development Trump
swiftly ordered a halt to much of the aid that the United States sends abroad.
Several weeks later, the pause is on pause. In his first week in office,
Trump issued an executive order directing a 90-day hold on most of the foreign
assistance disbursed through the State Department. Secretary of State
Marco Rubio issued several specific exemptions, including emergency food
programs and military aid to Israel and Egypt from the freeze on foreign
assistance. But thousands of U.S.-funded humanitarian, development and security
programs worldwide stopped work or prepared to do so. Without the money
to pay staff, aid organizations including the U.S. Agency for International
Development began laying off hundreds of employees. Crews removed the agency’s
signage from its Washington headquarters. But on Feb. 13, a federal judge
considering some of the lawsuits challenging agency cuts ordered the
administration to temporarily lift the funding freeze.
Federal grants and loans The
White House said last month it was pausing federal grants and loans as the
Republican administration began an across-the-board ideological review. The
freeze could affect trillions of dollars and cause widespread disruption in
health care research, education programs and other initiatives. Even grants
that have been awarded but not spent are supposed to be halted. “The use
of Federal resources to advance Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new
deal social engineering policies is a waste of taxpayer dollars that does not
improve the day-to-day lives of those we serve,” said a memo from Matthew
Vaeth, the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget. Democrats
and independent organizations said the move was illegal because Congress had
already authorized the funding.
Inspectors general Each of
the federal government’s largest agencies has its own independent inspector
general who is supposed to conduct objective audits, prevent fraud and promote
efficiency. Trump has fired at least 17 of them, including watchdogs he
appointed in his first term. At least one Democratic appointee, Michael
Horowitz at the Justice Department, was spared. Trump told reporters
that “it’s a very common thing to do” and that he would “put good people in
there that will be very good.” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of
New York said the firings were a “chilling purge.” Republican Sen. Lindsey
Graham of South Carolina, a top Trump ally, acknowledged that the firings may
have violated the law, but he added, “Just tell them you need to follow the law
next time.”
Department of Justice It’s
normal for politically appointed U.S. attorneys to be replaced, but it is not
standard procedure for career prosecutors to be ousted with a change in
administrations. The Justice Department said last month that it had
fired more than a dozen employees who worked on criminal prosecutions of Trump
by special counsel Jack Smith’s team. By tradition, career employees
remain with the department across presidential administrations regardless of
their involvement in sensitive investigations. Multiple senior career
officials were also reassigned.
State Department A large
number of senior career diplomats who served in politically appointed
leadership positions — as well as in lower-level posts at the State Department
— left their jobs at the demand of the new administration. It was not
immediately clear how many nonpolitical appointees were being asked to leave.
^ DOGE, Musk and Trump are
working hard to destroy 249 years of America.
They are firing everyone and
anyone they want to not for “efficiency” but for their own personal political
goals.
They are firing MAGA, Democrats,
Republicans and Ordinary Americans alike.
Their cuts are hurting MAGA,
Democrats, Republicans and Ordinary Americans alike.
How?
Cutting 1,000 people from the VA
means that the already slow and back-logged Department of Veteran’s Affairs
will become even more slow and even more back-logged and not able to help give
Veterans the care they deserve.
Removing the people who make sure
our Nuclear Power and Weapons Site are maintained and safe means we could have
a Nuclear Meltdown or Accident at any time.
Ending the Programs that Research
Cures and Treatments for Cancer and other Diseases means that they have set
back helping Ordinary Americans for years with Americans needlessly dying
because of their direct actions.
Removing People from the IRS
means Ordinary Americans who are already struggling to pay for Basic Things won’t
have the Tax Refunds anytime soon to continue to pay for food and shelter for
their Families.
DOGE having access to the IRS
Systems means they can look up any Tac and Bank Information on any American
they want to – which serves no purpose except for personal use.
Removing People from the National
Park Service means that if there are wildfires in those Parks there won’t be
enough people to help put them out or if there is a lost Hiker or other Emergency
there will be less people available to save lives.
Removing People from the Agriculture
Department means your Fruits, Vegetables and Meats won’t always be inspected
for freshness and safety.
Removing People from the FAA
means there will most likely be more Planes Crashes than then 4+ we have
already had this year.
Removing People from the FAA also
means a lot less safe American Skies as hundreds of Planes with thousands of
Americans travel across the country.
Pausing Federal Grants and Loans
means American College Students and Would-Be College Students won’t have the
help needed to go to College.
Ending Federal Grants and Loans
also means the end or slowdown of Medical Research to save lives.
The direct negative effects on Ordinary
Americans because of DOGE, Musk and Trump is a very long list that will only
continue to grow until those involved in destroying the American System stop. ^
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