'Because They Serve The Public, Not Billionaires': Dems Blast Trump's Federal Workforce Cuts

U.S. President Donald Trump has started implementing his plan to aggressively slash the federal workforce of some 2.3 million employees – a move that he said should improve government efficiency and reduce spending.

Probationary workers, those with less than a year of service, were the first to get hit with the mass job cuts.

Multiple outlets reported that agency leaders were advised Thursday by Office of Personnel Management (OPM) officials to begin dismissing probationary employees.

News of the widespread firing of federal workers on probation was met with mixed reactions. Some Democratic lawmakers say they were shocked.

Job Cuts Hit Various Agencies

The Department of Veterans Affairs revealed Thursday that over a thousand employees, including some probationary workers, will be let go.

"Mission-critical positions are exempt from the reductions," the VA noted. It said $98 million will be saved annually following the job cuts.

Dennis Lapcewich, the communications chair for the National Federation of Federal Employees' Forest Service Council, said the U.S. Forest Service was looking to cut at least 3,400 jobs. He said there were conflicting reports that some notices were already distributed to affected workers.

Other agencies that were reportedly affected were the Small Business Administration (SBA), the Education Department, the General Services Administration (GSA), and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

The OPM was also affected by the reductions. Dozens were fired through a Microsoft Teams call, CNN reported, citing the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents career employees at the agency.

An employee of the Department of Energy said the agency's "leadership was visibly shaken" Thursday as staffers started receiving dismissal notices.

Democratic Lawmakers Blast Federal Workforce Cuts

Among the lawmakers who had sharp words for the Trump administration's latest move was Rep. Shontel Brown, D-Ohio. "Trump and Musk are going after federal workers because they serve the public, not billionaires," she wrote on X late Thursday, noting how employees working on civil rights and serving veterans were affected.

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., urged the president and Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) chief Elon Musk to "reverse the firing of VA researchers." She said the researchers were currently in the middle of studying crucial topics such as mental health, cancer treatments, and more.

X Users Weigh In on Mass Firings

Users on Elon Musk's social media platform X had different takes on the matter.

Some said it was a "smart" move to get rid of the "newbies" in the federal workforce first, since "they have no protections."

One user believes it's the right thing to "downsize" since a smaller government is what the United States needs at this point.

Others argued that the federal workers affected by the cuts had the chance to leave their posts through the Trump admin's "Fork in the Road" buyout program but were supposedly blocked by unions from taking up the offer as the unions.

The federal workforce reductions are expected to affect more agencies as the OPM reportedly only around 75,000 federal workers took Trump's buyout offer, representing some 3.3% of the federal workforce.