Federal Employee Terminations

The Trump administration has intensified the termination of federal employees. The Office of Personnel Management directed the dismissal of trial and probationary employees last week. These employees, who are generally in their first year or two of employment, have fewer protections compared to more established workers. Although the exact number of terminated employees is unknown, multiple sources confirm that various agencies within the Departments of Health and Human Services (including CDC, NIH, and FDA), Agriculture, Energy (including the National Nuclear Safety Administration), Interior, Veterans Affairs, and others are affected. Democratic members and unions representing government workers have pledged to contest these firings, arguing that the Trump administration has not met the necessary requirements. Congressional Republicans largely support the terminations. Senate Majority Leader Thune (R-SD) stated last Friday that there was "an enormous room for reduction in force." According to OMB data, the directive could impact more than 200,000 workers. House Oversight and Government Reform Chair Comer and Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chair Lee advocated for “rightsizing” the federal government as they introduced a bill (S 583) to support President Trump's reduction efforts.