By Ahmed Abdelsalam
The U.S. federal workforce has shrunk by nearly one-fifth since President Donald Trump returned to office in January 2025, according to a Washington Post analysis of Office of Personnel Management data. About 426,000 full-time employees have departed over the past 18 months, reducing the workforce from 2.2 million to 1.94 million after accounting for new hires and court-ordered reinstatements.
Workforce Shrinks to 2013 Levels
The net decline of 255,000 employees represents a 12 percent drop, bringing staffing to its lowest level since January 2013, the end of Barack Obama's first term. By comparison, departures during Joe Biden's term averaged one in seven, and during Trump's first term about one in eight. A sharp spike occurred in September 2025 when incentive programs for early exits took effect, prompting nearly 121,000 departures in a single month.
Disproportionate Impact on Black Employees
Black workers, who made up 19 percent of the federal workforce (428,000 employees) as of September 2024 while representing 12 percent of the U.S. population, have been disproportionately affected. Census Bureau data shows a 30 percent decline in Black federal employment between November-December 2024 and the same period a year later. The administration has stopped publishing demographic data on government employees, but the Post used alternative sources to identify the trend.
DOGE's Role and Disputed Savings
Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which operated from January 20 to July 4, 2025, targeted diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) positions. A planning guide singled out 225 offices for closure; of 200 identified workers, 52 percent have left government, and more than half of those targeted were Black. A separate "DEI Watchlist" named 93 specific employees; 28 are now unemployed, 23 of them Black. DOGE claimed $215 billion in savings, a figure that has been widely disputed and falls far short of the $2 trillion Musk originally pledged to cut.
Voluntary Departures vs Firings
Only 32,000 of the 426,000 departures were direct firings; 85 percent left voluntarily or retired, often through early-retirement or deferred-resignation programs offering eight months of severance. OPM Director Scott Kupor denied mass firings, stating the vast majority left voluntarily. The White House affirmed compliance with all Equal Employment Opportunity Commission rules regarding discrimination.
