UPDATE 4-US federal workforce drops to lowest level in at least a decade
Published on: Jan. 9, 2026, 6:42 a.m. | Source: Devdiscourse
The Department of Homeland Security is an exception, with headcount barely fluctuating since Trump took office. The U.S. government employs 2.1 million workers, according to OPM statistics. Thousands of employees left their agencies in the following weeks, after the Trump administration directed cabinet secretaries to dismiss employees who were new to their roles. Agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services and the IRS, later dismissed more employees as part of mass layoffs.
