WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has overseen the departure of 50,000 federal employees and trimmed nearly $2 billion in salary payments within its first year, according to data released by a taxpayer watchdog group.
OpenTheBooks provided the “Swamp Update” in a Monday report highlighting the reduction in the federal workforce from 1,506,603 to 1,452,891 between 2024 and 2025, dipping to 53,712 fewer employees in government under President Trump than under former President Joe Biden.
At the same time, the federal payroll got a $1.86 billion cut in the first year of Trump’s second term.
Biden’s final year in office saw federal salaries surge by more than $10 billion and the federal headcount by more than 13,000.
The watchdog figures don’t include a headcount or salaries for employees at the Department of War or the US Postal Service, which employ more than 3 million active duty and reserve troops as well as civilian workers.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency — which officially wound down its operations this July — had spearheaded the layoffs and cuts early in 2025 with the shuttering of the US Agency for International Development, eliminating billions of dollars in programs and mass firings.
Up to 3,500 employees at USAID exited their federal roles as a result, and the building shut down while its remaining operations and workforce merged with the State Department.
Other spending cuts and culling of the federal workforce have been furthered by the White House Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel Management.
Last December, OPM Director Scott Kupor claimed that across the government at least 249,000 people had left federal employment — with most doing so voluntarily and around 17,000 being fired, a so-called “reductions in force” termination.
According to OpenTheBooks, at least 94 federal agencies reduced staff, but 21 agencies hired more workers and 11 didn’t alter their workforce numbers.
The largest workforce reduction occurred in the Department of Veterans Affairs, with 21,428 employees leaving government service.
The Department of Health and Human Services also axed 13,580 employees, and the Department of Education, which Trump pledged to abolish, lost 1,518 workers — about 36% of its workforce.
Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security experienced the largest hiring spree, with 8,043 workers joining its ranks to carry out Trump’s mass deportations and border security agenda.
The Departments of Interior and Transportation also hired more than 3,000 and nearly 1,000 workers, respectively.
