This is affecting more than just the national capital region, where 20% of the 2.4 million federal civilian workforce members are located, not including military personnel and postal employees. Over 80% of that workforce lives outside the Washington area.
There is no official figure available on the total number of layoffs or personnel reductions. The Associated Press tallied how agencies are being impacted based on AP reports and statements from lawmakers and employee unions.
Here is a look at some of the broad and specific ways federal agencies and employees are being affected by the administration's reductions, as of February 19:
The White House offered a "deferred resignation" proposal in exchange for financial incentives, such as months of paid leave, to nearly all federal employees who chose to leave their jobs before February 6.
But just before that deadline, a federal judge blocked Trump's plan to hear arguments from the administration and unions, who claimed the offer was illegal.
According to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), about 75,000 federal employees had accepted the offer by February 12.
There have also been widespread layoffs of employees on probation — those who typically have less than a year on the job and have not yet gained civil service protection. Potentially, hundreds of thousands are affected.
On February 13, the administration ordered agencies to lay off almost all of these workers. According to OPM data, 220,000 federal employees had less than a year on the job as of March 2024.
On February 13, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced the dismissal of over 1,000 employees with less than two years of service. According to Senator Patty Murray, a Democrat from Washington, this included researchers working on cancer treatments, opioid addiction, prosthetics, and burn exposure.
At least 39 people have been laid off from the Department of Education, including special education specialists and student aid officials, according to a union representing agency workers.
There have also been nearly $900 million in cuts to the department's Institute of Educational Services, which tracks the progress of U.S. students. It is unclear to what extent the institute will continue to exist. Industry experts said at least 169 contracts were canceled on February 10.
Hundreds of federal employees responsible for working on the country's nuclear weapons programs were laid off on February 13, but that measure was largely reversed hours later, according to a memo obtained by the AP. Three U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals said up to 350 employees of the National Nuclear Security Administration were laid off, some losing access to their email before being informed of their dismissal.
The positions of over 5,000 probationary employees are at stake at the Department of Health and Human Services.
On February 14, officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were informed that nearly 1,300 probationary positions would be eliminated, about a tenth of the agency's workforce, but the final number was closer to 700, according to two CDC officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to report on the cuts.
Probationary employees were also laid off at other public health agencies, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, but the Department of Health has not released a final figure.
Probationary cuts included over 130 employees from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency, which oversees the country's critical infrastructure, including federal efforts to secure electoral systems. It is unclear if these included 17 employees who worked on election security and were already on leave.
Four employees from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) —its chief financial officer, two program analysts, and a grants specialist— were laid off on February 11 for payments to reimburse New York City for hotel costs for migrants.
The IRS, the country's tax office, will lay off thousands of probationary workers amid tax season, according to two people familiar with the agency's plans who were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
It is unclear how many IRS workers will be affected or when the cuts will occur.
The administration has laid off about 1,000 newly hired employees of the National Park Service who maintain and clean parks, educate visitors, and perform other functions.
The layoffs were not publicly announced but were confirmed by Democratic senators and House members. To add to the confusion, the park service now says it is reinstating around 5,000 seasonal jobs that were initially revoked last month.
Seasonal workers are routinely added during warm weather months to serve over 325 million annual visitors who descend on the country's 428 parks, historic sites, and other attractions.
The administration has ordered the agency —created after the 2008 financial crisis and the high-risk mortgage lending scandal— to halt nearly all of its work, effectively shutting it down.
New Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said on February 14 that her agency had welcomed the DOGE team, led by Elon Musk, with "open arms" and that layoffs "will be imminent."
Trump quickly ordered much of the aid the U.S. sends abroad to be halted. Several weeks later, the pause is on pause.
In his first week in office, Trump issued an executive order directing a 90-day suspension on most foreign assistance distributed through the State Department.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued several specific exemptions, including emergency food programs and military aid to Israel and Egypt, from the freeze on foreign assistance. But thousands of humanitarian, development, and security programs funded by the U.S. worldwide halted their work or prepared to do so.
Without money to pay staff, aid organizations, including the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), began laying off hundreds of employees. Teams removed the agency's signage from its Washington headquarters.
But on February 13, a federal judge considering some of the lawsuits challenging the agency's cuts ordered the administration to temporarily lift the funding freeze.
The White House said last month it would pause federal grants and loans as the Republican administration began a broad ideological review.
The freeze could affect billions of dollars and cause widespread disruption in health research, educational programs, and other initiatives. Even grants that have been awarded but not spent are supposed to be halted.
"Using federal resources to promote Marxist, transgender, and social engineering equity policies of the green new deal is a waste of taxpayer dollars that does not improve the daily lives of those we serve," said a memo from Matthew Vaeth, the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget.
Democrats and independent organizations said the move was illegal because Congress had already authorized the funding.
Each of the largest agencies in the federal government has its own independent inspector general who is supposed to conduct objective audits, prevent fraud, and promote efficiency.
Trump has fired at least 17 of them, including some he appointed in his first term. At least one Democratic appointment, Michael Horowitz at the Department of Justice, was spared.
The president told reporters that this "is a very common thing to do" and that he would "put good people there who will be very good."
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said the firings were a "chilling purge." Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a Trump ally, acknowledged that the firings may have violated the law but added, "Just tell them you need to follow the law next time."
It is normal for politically appointed U.S. prosecutors to be replaced, but it is not standard procedure for career prosecutors to be fired with a change in administration.
The Department of Justice said last month it had fired more than a dozen employees who worked on criminal charges against Trump by special prosecutor Jack Smith's team.
By tradition, career employees remain at the department through presidential administrations, regardless of their involvement in sensitive investigations.
Several senior career diplomats who served in politically appointed leadership positions —as well as in lower-level positions at the State Department— left their jobs at the request of the new administration.
It was not immediately clear how many non-political appointments were asked to leave.