Editor’s Note: The following article was originally published by Kennedy Andara from the Center for American Progress (CAP) on March 17th, 2025.
March 13, 2025, marked the deadline for federal government agencies to submit plans to further reduce their workforce following orders from the Trump administration and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Agencies were instructed to submit plans for “large-scale” reductions in force* (known as RIFs) to take place over the spring of 2025. In response, the Department of Education laid off nearly 40 percent of its staff, effectively halving the Department’s workforce when combined with earlier separations.
This follows the layoffs across the federal government in January and February, which have led to the termination of an estimated 60,000 civil servants. Separately, the Trump administration terminated more than an estimated 24,000 probationary employees in February. In March of 2025, two judges blocked the termination of thousands of probationary workers, though court challenges remain ongoing, and it remains to be seen how many workers will be reinstated. In addition, more than 75,000 workers accepted a buyout offer from the administration—which is also being challenged in courts.
The number of civil servants who are expected to be terminated is unknown. Some employees’ status is uncertain, given pending litigation and blowback related to many reckless decisions by the Trump administration. Some federal government departments and agencies are preparing to cut almost 50 percent of their staff, which would lead to a marked reduction in the government’s ability to perform essential services. In particular, a leaked memo from the Department of Veterans Affairs forecasts the elimination of more than 80,000 jobs, which would greatly reduce the agency’s ability to administer veterans’ benefits. Across the country, emergency management offices, national parks, Social Security offices, and more may no longer have adequate capacity to fulfill their mission to serve the public or serve as economic engines for rural communities.
Federal workforce cuts have far-reaching impacts
The federal government is the nation’s largest employer, with nearly 3 million nonenlisted, civilian employees. Public servants are spread across the nation, with 85 percent located outside of the Washington, D.C., region, making it clear that communities nationwide will feel the impacts of the layoffs. Excluding the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia, more than half of the top 20 congressional districts with the highest shares of civil servants are served by a Republican member of the House.
Every congressional district has more than 3,000 public servants employed by the federal government.
Every congressional district has more than 3,000 public servants employed by the federal government. As an employer, the federal government is the equivalent of multiple large warehouses, hospitals, or factories in each of the 435 congressional districts across the country.
Below is a map of the United States by congressional district that shows the number of nonenlisted, civilian workers employed by the federal government, according to the American Community Survey in 2023. The map also includes nonenlisted, civilian federal workers as a share of the district’s total employed population over the age of 16. This data does not include active-duty U.S. armed forces or commissioned corps. Alongside this data are examples of workers impacted by layoffs across the nation.
Workers and communities are already experiencing the initial shocks from the Trump administration’s cuts. Former civil servants feel the fallout from losing their jobs and are now struggling to make ends meet. Some states are already reporting steep rises in unemployment filings since the initial round of public servant layoffs in February that are overwhelming the system. Nationwide, more than 8,000 federal workers had filed continued unemployment claims for the week of February 22, 2025. In response, states and local governments are rolling out initiatives to secure employment for public servants and support their economic security.
Conclusion
Laid-off workers performed crucial services to communities, such as monitoring hurricanes, mapping floods, researching cancer cures, and managing energy grids. Their incomes support local economies and keep their families afloat. Reductions in the federal workforce mean longer wait times for crucial government services. Attacks on the federal workforce not only harm workers but also the communities they serve.
*Author’s note: The term layoff is used throughout this article to refer to the “large-scale reductions in force” by the Trump administration as well as the probationary employees terminated in February 2025. As of March 14, 2025, there is ongoing litigation regarding the termination of probationary workers.
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