The federal workforce in Washington, D.C., has hit a 30-year low as President Trump follows through on his promise to cut waste, fraud, and abuse from the federal government. The number of federal jobs in the DMV area has fallen by just over 60,000, from nearly 376,000 at the start of President Trump’s second term to 312,500 in May.
BREAKING: U.S. government jobs are CRASHING.
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) July 17, 2026
Federal jobs are at their lowest level in 30 YEARS.
Down from 364K under Obama to 313K under Trump.
President Trump is slashing and burning the federal workforce.
This is saving taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars a year.… pic.twitter.com/Ph8ypvRi54
🚨 AWESOME! It's just been announced that DOGE efforts are PURGING US federal government jobs in the DC area to their lowest level in 30 YEARS — Axios
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) July 17, 2026
The government has now plummeted from close to 400K jobs to nearly 300K jobs in over one year 🔥
I VOTED FOR THIS! 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/wNGKQNXOLk
The cuts were largely driven by Elon Musk’s and President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), though the president has continued to press for workforce reductions ever since, with each new jobs report showing further shrinkage in the federal workforce.
The Department of Education took the heaviest blow, with nearly 40 percent of its workforce slashed in 2025 as Trump made clear his goal: to dismantle the agency outright. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Treasury weren't far behind, each shedding roughly a quarter of their staff, with the IRS bearing the brunt as the administration moved to gut tax enforcement.
Beyond those, USAID, Agriculture, HHS, the VA, and the Department of Labor all saw double-digit percentage losses in their workforce, with USAID and the USDA especially targeted.
Meanwhile, the exceptions, defense, and immigration enforcement agencies were spared, even bolstered, as reasserting American strength and mass deportations remained central pillars of the second Trump administration. Interestingly, staff was added to the two departments only government is equipped to run, while virtually all the cuts hit functions better left to the private sector.
