In a sweeping move that’s turning heads across the country, the U.S. government has begun firing thousands of employees at multiple federal agencies, with Elon Musk leading a major purge of the federal workforce. Sources from unions and federal employees confirmed to Reuters that the wave of terminations began just yesterday, marking an unprecedented shift in how Washington operates.
The Department of Veterans Affairs, responsible for veterans’ healthcare, announced the dismissal of over 1,000 employees still in their probationary periods. Meanwhile, the U.S. Forest Service is set to part ways with more than 3,000 workers. The terminations aren’t limited to those agencies either. The Department of Education, the Small Business Administration, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and the General Services Administration have all been affected.
The CDC, which plays a key role in protecting the nation’s public health, had about 13,000 employees before the cuts, including more than 2,000 working internationally. With a budget of $9.2 billion, the loss of nearly 10% of the workforce raises questions about the future ability of agencies to handle crises.
In what many are calling an unexpected escalation, Musk’s team has begun making their presence felt within the IRS, the nation’s tax-collecting agency, while U.S. embassies are being advised to brace for further staffing cuts. The unprecedented scale of the move signals a broad overhaul of federal operations, with Musk at the helm.
While Trump has defended these cuts, citing waste, fraud, and inefficiency in a government burdened by a staggering $36 trillion in debt and a $1.8 trillion deficit, the approach has raised eyebrows. “The government is too bloated,” Trump said, justifying the cuts as a necessary measure. However, critics are concerned about the harshness of the method, with some questioning whether the disruption will ultimately serve the country’s long-term interests.
Ariana Baio weighs in on the chaos of the massive government overhaul, highlighting the fallout from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Nearly 1,300 CDC employees—around 10% of its workforce—are facing termination, following a directive from the Department of Health and Human Services. Federal officials confirmed that employees would receive four weeks of paid administrative leave, though the timing of individual notifications remains uncertain.
Musk’s influence over this vast government restructuring appears to be far-reaching. Some experts predict that the job market might see a slowdown in the coming months.
“It doesn’t seem that DOGE [the Department of Government Efficiency] has managed to cut spending substantively yet—they’ve just created chaos,” said Martha Gimbel, Executive Director of the Budget Lab at Yale University. Gimbel warned that employers who rely on federal grants and contracts could face declines in hiring, with the possibility that job growth could dip into negative territory in future months.
The fallout from these decisions, both economically and politically, will take time to fully unfold. But one thing is certain—this massive purge of federal workers is unprecedented and it’s shaking up Washington in ways no one anticipated.
