Washington, March 6, 2025 – President Donald Trump is planning his biggest cuts to the federal work force yet when his administration fires more than 70,000 employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The VA has to report back on the potential firings to OPM by by April 14. More than 2,400 workers have already been laid off from the agency as part of earlier cuts.
VA Secretary Doug Collins said none of those laid off were ‘mission-critical.’
Other agencies are in the process of drawing up plans to lay off staff.
The Trump administration sent out a memo in early February asking agencies to develop a report by March 13 on its reduction in force plans.
The IRS is working to cut its workforce by as much as half through a mix of layoffs, attrition and incentivized buyouts, the AP reported.
The federal tax collector employs roughly 90,000 workers and it’s tax season. Returns are due by April 15th.
Democrats argue Trump and Musk cannot make such decisions without approval from Congress but they are largely powerless to stop them.
Lawsuits have been filed.
Some employees have been reinstated.
The Merit Systems Protection Board – an independent board that considers federal employees’ complaints against the government – ordered the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to temporarily reinstate close to 6,000 employees fired since Feb. 13.
It found reasonable grounds to believe the agency acted illegally in terminating them.
Musk, as the leader of Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency has already cut federal agencies, fired staff, and slashed federal spending.
The Trump administration has ended diversity hiring, froze federal contracts and declared there are only two genders.
Since Trump took office on January 20th, more than 200,000 federal workers at more than a dozen agencies have had their roles eliminated. (Daily Mail)
