A fundamental part of the Trump Administration’s first 100 days strategy is to weaken and dismantle as much of our federal government as possible. Led by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)—Trump is aggressively targeting federal agencies and their staff to further concentrate power at the White House, to scare federal workers into anticipatory compliance with requests that are likely illegal, to unilaterally cut or undermine core services, and to undermine the public’s confidence in our government. It is unclear precisely how many federal employees have been fired, laid off, placed on leave, or pressured into resigning, but estimates put the total number at least 103,452 federal employees as of March 6, with more to come.

Department of Education

Total Firings: 1,300 so far; 4,200 (planned)

Offices and Programs Potentially Impacted:

  • Office of Civil Rights
  • Pell Grants and Scholarships
  • Work Study Programs
  • Programs supporting access to higher education
  • K-12 teacher preparation
  • Grants for students with disabilities
  • Grants for low-income students

These firings, along with plans to eliminate the entire Department, will hinder the Department’s ability to enforce civil rights protections regarding sexual harassment and discrimination based on gender, race, ethnicity, sexual identity, sexual orientation, and disability. These firings may also impact access to quality K-12 and higher education for students across the country.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Total Firings: over 100 staff; plans to remove nearly all of its 1,700 staff

Offices and Programs Potentially Impacted:

  • Enforcement of regulations that prevent banks, lenders, and other financial institutions from engaging in predatory and discriminatory practices
  • Pursuit of consumer redress, civil monetary penalties, and enforcement actions
  • Enforcement of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act prohibiting creditors from discriminating against credit applicants
  • Address the hurdles domestic violence survivors face to their credit when leaving an abusive situation.
  • Address harmful data broker practices that invade our privacy and violate our rights.

Gutting the CFPB would make it easier for banks, credit card companies, for-profit colleges, and other financial institutions to take advantage of or discriminate against U.S. consumers.

Department of Agriculture

Total Firings: Thousands of layoffs have already happened at USDA, and 12,104 probationary employees at risk of easy dismissal if the agency wants to cut staff further.

Offices and Programs Potentially Impacted:

  • Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program
  • Food Aid Program
  • Food Distribution Disaster Assistance Program
  • National School Lunch Program
  • Child and Adult Care Food Program
  • Summer Food Service Program
  • Emergency Food Assistance Program
  • Food Safety Recalls and Research

Firings at USDA could disrupt the provision of nutrition assistance to women, children, and families with low incomes who face food insecurity, disaster relief, and the nation’s response to the bird flu epidemic.

Department of Health and Human Services

Total Firings: Thousands of employees, including about 2,000 NIH; 1,300 CDC staff; and 20% of staff at the Office of Head Start and Office of Child Care.

Offices and Programs Potentially Impacted:

  • Medicare
  • Medicaid
  • Research into improved medical practices and interventions
  • Early childhood education grants
  • Affordable child care grants
  • Addressing public health emergencies

Firings at USDA could disrupt the provision of nutrition assistance to women, children, and families with low incomes who face food insecurity, disaster relief, and the nation’s response to the bird flu epidemic.

Internal Revenue Service

Total Firings: 6,000

Offices and Programs Potentially Impacted:

  • Tax filing support for middle and low-income taxpayers
  • Enforcement against wealthy tax cheats
  • Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
  • Child Tax Credit (CTC)

Department of Labor

Total Firings: Unreported

Offices and Programs Potentially Impacted:

  • The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
  • Federal labor law compliance
  • Family and Medical Leave guidance
  • Women’s Bureau
  • National Database of Childcare Prices
  • Bureau of Labor Statistics

The Department of Labor is tasked with ensuring workers’ safety and rights, as well as their employers’ compliance with federal labor laws.

Department of Housing and Urban Development

Total Firings: 50% of all staff (planned)

Offices and Programs Potentially Impacted:

These firings will lead to longer waitlists for housing assistance; inspection delays; delays in payments to landlords and vendors, risking evictions; delays in critical disaster aid; closing homeless shelters; and housing discrimination.

Social Security Administration

Total Firings: 7,000 (planned)

Offices and Programs Potentially Impacted:

  • Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)
  • Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disability benefits
  • Medicare Parts A and B

These firings threaten the smooth operation of one of the most efficient and important government agencies, upon which millions of people rely.

 

Read the full report here.