By james art 
Federal agencies accelerate redundancies and are planning even more cuts, as the Trump administration is moving quickly to reduce government labor.
The Pentagon and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development are preparing to cut the budget and reduce staff, while the redundancies hit the Ministry of Agriculture and the Centers for the Control and Prevention of Diseases on Friday, numerous sources told the NPR, on the condition of Anonymity.
A larger wave of termination has already affected thousands of employees in agencies, including veterans, energy and educational departments. This week, President Trump has signed an enforcement order directing the agencies to prepare for “large -scale” reductions in force.
Many of the first to be shortened are those who are still in the test period because they have recently been hired or are longtime employees who have been moved or elevated to a new position. In many cases, they have less protection.
“The breakthrough period is a continuation of the work application process, not a right to permanent employment,” a spokesman for a Federal Personnel Management Service said in a statement. “The agencies take independent action in the light of the recent freezing of hiring and in support of the wider efforts of the President to restructure and optimize the federal government to better serve the US people at the highest possible standard.”
The federal workers have started sharing their stories in LinkedIn as they changed their #opentowork status.
“I was a” consumer protection cop “thrown out of the Dodge rhythm,” writes Taylor Son, who works as a consumer’s financial protection desk for 11 months before being fired on Tuesday, one month before his probation to finish.
Based in Houston, Sonne inhabits the country in search of unfair, deceptive or violent practices in financial institutions.
“I feel like this is such an important agency for every American,” he told NPR. “This is really a non -party mission that is a pity that it is so strongly politicized.”
HUD aims to reduce half staff
Officials at the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development have set a goal to fire half of the agency’s employees, according to one HUD employee with a direct knowledge of the plans and the leader of the Union who has talked to others.
Agency officials have said some areas will be spared, while others may encounter even higher goals to reduce about 75% of the staff. A HUD employee said when employees first learned these numbers, they looked visibly distracted and described them as “drastic” and “shocking”. Later, the employee was told about the purpose of the meeting. They spoke to the NPR provided that they were not baptized by fear of retribution in their work.
Antonio Gaines, chairman of the HUD Council 222 of the US Federation of Civil Servants, was said about these goals by three employees with direct knowledge of them, but who also refused to be called for fear of retribution. He said the Union had repeatedly encountered the Trump administration to negotiate the reduction, as required by its contract, but was rejected.
HUD did not immediately respond to a request for a comment.
The Ministry of Defense is aimed at a great reduction in budget
The Pentagon is aimed at an 8% discount to its budget over $ 800 billion next year, including staff reductions, according to employees who have not been authorized to speak publicly and provide details about the state of anonymity.
The goals are likely to include the workforce that Minister of Defense Pete Heget has already said that it has grown too much.
USDA: Supervisors do not notify the dismissals
At the Ministry of Agriculture, the abbreviations struck employees working in areas, including the health inspection of animals and plants, the protection of agricultural land and agricultural survey, according to three USDA officials who spoke with NPR anonymously, since they were not authorized to talk about the agency And they are afraid of revenge for revenge.
The USDA cuts included test employees, as well as some longer fixed contract employees, USDA sources said.
A USDA supervisor said they had learned that the employees they watched were terminated when the employees said they were receiving a notifications late on Thursday.
“I received nothing, without notifications, no messages from HR,” the manager said.
An termination notice sent to one of the probation officials of the supervisory authority and is seen by the NPR, it is said: “The agency finds on your presentation that you have not demonstrated that your more employment in the agency will be in public interest.” S
Eric Baradat / AFP via Getty Images
/ /
AFP via Getty Images
“I do not know how they can say that when their leaders have never been consulted,” the leader said.
USDA did not respond to a comment request. In Friday’s speech, the newly appointed Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins, said the agency will work with the White House and Congress to “focus the USDA on its main missions on support for US agriculture, ranch and forestry.”
10% of CDC staff decrease
About 1,300 workers were shortened on Friday at the Centers for Control and Prevention of Diseases, amounting to 10% of his total staff, according to two agency employees who demanded anonymity as they were not authorized to talk about the agency
As with other agencies, CDC dismissals are aimed at tested employees-width category, which includes recent rental and longtime employees who have recently been moved to a new position at the agency.
Andrew Nixon, Director of Communications at the Ministry of Health and Human Services, wrote in an email to NPR: “HHS follows the administration’s guidance and takes action to support the President’s wider efforts to restructure and optimize the federal government. This is to provide this HHS better serve the American people at the highest and most effective standard. ”
More cuts at CFPB
About 70-100 employees of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau were fired on Thursday night, according to three current staff with knowledge of the situation who did not want to be identified for fear of being fired. They follow 73 more employees who were terminated earlier during the week.
The National Union of Finance Employees, which represents CFPB employees, filed an application for an administrative stay and a temporary restraining order on Friday. Union’s lawyers claim that CFPB dismantling was illegal.
“Neither the President nor his appointed have the constitutional body to remove an agency created by the Statute,” they write, pointing to the numerous mandatory obligations imposed on the Congress Agency. “Only the Congress – not the executive – there is no power to eliminate these obligations or to dissolve the agency created to perform them.”
Tom Bowman, Will Stone and Pien Huang of NPR contributed to reporting
Copyright 2025 NPR