If Democrats force America into a government shutdown, President Trump is preparing to reward them with deep personnel cuts to government agencies, typically strongholds of Democratic voters. At the Cato Institute, Chris Edwards writes:

The Trump administration plans federal worker layoffs if the government shuts down this week. The president’s budget director argues that the federal workforce is bloated. The administration has worked to cut the number of federal employees since the beginning of the year.

Let’s put the administration’s efforts into broader context. The figure shows Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data on the number of civilian (nonuniformed) federal workers, excluding the postal service. The number increased from 1.9 million in January 2000 to 2.3 million in August 2025.

Aside from the three Census-related spikes, federal employment increased in three jumps: the first term of George W. Bush, the first term of Barack Obama, and the term of Joe Biden. This year, employment has dipped under Trump, but not yet enough to fully reverse the Biden increase.

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