Trump administration sparks outcry as it continues to gut federal workforce – US politics live

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The Associated Press reports that Donald Trump’s move to lay off federal employees in their probationary period won’t save much money, but could jeopardize a host of government projects.

Among them: cancer research. Here’s more, from the AP:

The firing of probationary employees began earlier this week and has included the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Department of Education workers.

At least 39 were fired from the Education Department on Wednesday, according to a union that represents agency workers, including civil rights workers, special education specialists and student aid officials.

The layoffs also hit Department of Veterans Affairs researchers working on cancer treatment, opioid addiction, prosthetics and burn pit exposure, U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, a Democrat, said Thursday.

Murray said in a statement that she heard from VA researchers in her state who were told to stop their research immediately, “not because their work isn’t desperately needed, but because Trump and Elon have decided to fire these researchers on a whim.”

Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, a group that defends government workers, said the Agriculture Department’s Food Safety and Inspection Service would be hit especially hard by laying off probationary employees because it has trouble recruiting inspectors required to be present at all times at most slaughterhouses.

The civilian federal workforce , not including military personnel and postal workers, is made up of about 2.4 million people. While about 20% of the workers are in Washington D.C., and the neighboring states of Maryland and Virginia, more than 80% live outside the Capitol region.

Layoffs are unlikely to yield significant deficit savings. When the Congressional Budget Office looked at the issue, it found the government spent $271 billion annually compensating civilian federal workers, with about 60% of that total going to workers employed by the departments of Defense, Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs.

Major union and advocacy group condemn mass firing of probationary employees

The largest federal employee union as well as an advocacy group for the government workforce have condemned the Trump administration’s move to fire employees in their probationary period.

Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, accused the Trump administration of targeting workers new in their positions simply because they want to get rid of them:

This administration has abused the probationary period to conduct a politically driven mass firing spree, targeting employees not because of performance, but because they were hired before Trump took office.

These firings are not about poor performance – there is no evidence these employees were anything but dedicated public servants. They are about power. They are about gutting the federal government, silencing workers, and forcing agencies into submission to a radical agenda that prioritizes cronyism over competence.

And Max Stier, president and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service, said that the move could be crippling to workforce’s future functionality:

The Trump administration’s decision to fire civil servants who have been in service for under a year is yet another profoundly damaging action. With just over 7% of federal employees under age 30, our government needs a new generation of workers with the necessary skills to better serve the needs of our modern society. By terminating employees simply because they are the most vulnerable, the Trump administration has just thrown away our down payment on the future. Many of those who lost their jobs today were newer hires made in areas of great need for our government, including AI, cybersecurity, and technology. It is ultimately our country that will pay a heavy price for this arbitrary dismantling of the civil service.

Trump administration continues to gut federal workforce after Musk call to 'delete' agencies

Good morning, US politics blog readers. The Trump administration’s drive to downsize the federal workforce continues, with news that thousands of US government employees across the United States have been told they are being let go. The latest cuts target employees in their probationary periods at agencies that include the Department of Veterans Affairs, Small Business Administration and US Forest Service. That’s in addition to the 75,000 employees the White House said accepted its legally questionable offer of deferred resignations. All this is taking place after Elon Musk, who Trump has appointed as chair of his “department of government efficiency” said that his intention was to “delete entire agencies”. Federal worker unions have sued over his moves, while warning that the Trump-Musk drive to downsize government by going after the people who work there threatens to undermine programs Americans depend on. We’ll tell you more about that today.

Here’s what else is going on:

• Trump is heading to Mar-a-Lago for the weekend this afternoon, but before he does, he’ll sign executive orders at 1pm. He often invites the press into the Oval Office to watch him do so.

• Top federal prosecutors have resigned after receiving orders from the justice department to drop bribery charges against New York mayor Eric Adams. We expect to hear more about the fallout from the decision throughout the day.

• JD Vance is scheduled to meet with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and deliver remarks at the Munich security conference, where America’s European allies are grasping for details of the Trump administration’s new policy on Ukraine. We have a live blog covering it all, and you can read it here.