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Drop down to agency-by-agency table, below.
Recent Developments
For agency-specific news, see GovExec’s RIF watch or scroll down to our “cut tracker”
Wed, April 8, 2026:
Tues, April 7, 2026:
Breaking Down OMB’s Growing Use of Category C. A tool to withhold federal funds for use in future fiscal years is increasingly being employed to advance administration priorities… A Category C action sets aside, for use in a future fiscal year, funds that Congress has made available across multiple fiscal years - Lawfare
Mon, March 30, 2026:
‘Blatant disrespect’: Judge contemplates contempt proceedings after VA re-terminated union contract. - GovExec
Fri, March 13, 2026:
Fri, March 6, 2026:
Thurs, March 5, 2026:
Wed, March 4, 2026:
US government workforce shrinks by 12% since September 2024 - Reuters
The cuts were felt across the government, with agencies such as the Treasury Department and Health and Human Services seeing relatively large decreases of 24% and 20% respectively between September 2024 and January 2026.OPM wants agencies to prioritize employees’ performance, not tenure, during RIFs. The Trump administration’s proposal to prioritize performance in RIFs comes after OPM teed up plans to limit high performance ratings for federal employees. - FNN
Fri, Feb 27, 2026:
Moratorium on federal employee layoffs lapses amid shutdown. Legal challenges to the administration’s layoff efforts appear far from over - Roll Call
Tues, Feb 24, 2026:
GAO releases report: Federal workforce changes - Jan to June 2025
Mon, Feb 16, 2026:
House Democrats criticize ‘devastating’ federal workforce cuts - FNN
Fri, Feb 13, 2026:
OPM Seeks to Speed up Layoffs, Take Control of Appeals Processes - AIP
Tues, Feb 10, 2026:
Congress paused all federal layoffs for 3 months. That’s set to change this week. A ban on agency RIFs is scheduled to be lifted after Feb. 13. - Gov Exec
Fri, Jan 16, 2026:
How many people can the federal government lose before it crashes? - Brookings
Thurs, Jan 1, 2026:
There are 271,000 fewer federal employees than there were at the start of 2025 — about a 9% drop, per the latest tally from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. - Axios
Tues, Dec 16, 2025:
Through firings, forced relocations and a “deferred resignation” program (DRP), the administration has initiated sweeping reductions to the civil service, often in a haphazard and chaotic manner. As of Dec. 16, 2025, our data indicates that over 212,000 civil servants have left the workforce. - Federal Harms Tracker
Wed, Dec 10, 2025:
The Office of Personnel Management has indicated that about 317,000 federal employees left the government in 2025, from all causes (retirements, resignations, layoffs, firings, buyouts, and other separations). - TTNews
OPM says 92% of fed departures this year were voluntary. Those who left disagree. Staff only left "the most amazing job I could ever have" under significant pressure, former federal employees said. GovExec
Resources:
Appropriations Committee (Democrats) Database Tracking Nearly a Half Trillion Dollars in Funds Frozen, Blocked, or Delayed - Approps Comm
Federal Harms Tracker: The Cost to Your Government - Partnership for Public Service
The Biggest Casualties of Trump’s Year of Government Cuts - Time
Instances of federal employee rehirings since the beginning of the second Trump administration - Brookings
Agency-by-Agency Table:
Explanatory Notes:
“Probationary employees” are those who are simply in their first year, first two years, or first three years of employment who do not yet have full civil service protections. These include employees transferring from other agencies who may have many years of senior level federal experience. DOGE’s mass firings of probationary employees had nothing to do with the importance of their work; rather, it is because they were easier to dismiss.
“Reductions in Force (RIFs)”: When an agency executes a RIF action, it must comply with all applicable laws, regulations, and formal agency policies and the terms of any applicable collective bargaining agreement. Under current law and regulations, agencies are generally required to provide written notice to employees affected by a RIF 60 full days in advance of the date of release. (5 C.F.R.§351.402). Source – CRS
RIFs and Essential Employees: The Trump Administration has directed agency heads, in designing RIFs, to target employees who would not be considered “essential” during a government shutdown when funding lapses. This is a complete misunderstanding of the law. During a shutdown, all employers are furloughed except for those considered essential for the protection of life and property — who are deemed “excepted.” The designation of employees as “excepted” during a shutdown has nothing to do with the importance of employee positions with respect to fulfilling congressionally mandated functions. See our page on shutdowns.