President Trump’s aggressive push to reduce the federal workforce through his Department of Government Efficiency is on track to outpace even Bill Clinton’s historic job cuts—possibly setting a new record within months.
AT A GLANCE
- Trump has cut 36,000 federal jobs in his second term, with plans for up to 275,000 more
- Clinton reduced the federal workforce by 399,000 over eight years; Trump could match that in one
- Truman holds the all-time record with 566,000 cuts after WWII
- Trump’s D.O.G.E has canceled over $1 billion in federal contracts
- Despite a doubling U.S. population since 1945, the federal workforce remains similarly sized
Trump’s D.O.G.E Slashes Federal Workforce with Historic Speed
President Trump is making good on his second-term promise to “drain the swamp” by attacking what he views as decades of bureaucratic bloat. Through the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E), Trump has already eliminated 36,000 federal jobs and is targeting as many as 275,000 additional positions. The plan involves terminating 200,000 probationary workers and offering voluntary buyouts to another 75,000.
The scale and speed of this initiative are unprecedented in modern history. As Liberty Nation reports, Trump could achieve in a single year what Bill Clinton took two full terms to accomplish during his own federal downsizing campaign in the 1990s.
Watch video coverage of Trump’s federal workforce cuts.
A Historical Context: Clinton, Truman, and the Federal Fat
Trump’s efforts are being compared to the two presidents most associated with shrinking government: Bill Clinton and Harry Truman. Clinton oversaw the elimination of 399,000 federal jobs primarily through buyouts between 1993 and 2001, while Truman, in the post-WWII demobilization era, slashed an astounding 566,000 positions.
Despite his previous record of federal job growth—73,000 positions added during his first term—Trump now appears determined to reverse course and deliver one of the steepest workforce reductions in history. This time, he’s targeting not just direct employees but also the contractors and grantees who make up a growing share of the invisible federal footprint.
Outsourcing Obscures the True Size of Government
While the official number of federal employees today hovers near levels seen in the Truman era, that figure is misleading. According to Forbes, the government has increasingly outsourced labor. The share of federal work performed by grant and contract employees rose from just over 50% in 1984 to 66.5% by 2023.
Trump’s administration is now tackling this hidden bureaucracy by canceling over $1 billion in federal contracts. This move not only reduces taxpayer expenses but also limits the indirect control of government through third-party entities—something critics argue has shielded the true size and cost of federal operations for decades.
Federal Cuts and Political Irony
Interestingly, the data does not support a clear partisan pattern regarding workforce changes. Since the Carter era, Democratic presidents have collectively reduced federal jobs by about 64,000, while Republicans—including Reagan and Bush—actually added more than 237,000. Trump’s aggressive cuts in his second term mark a sharp departure from his own earlier expansion.
In public statements, Trump has framed this effort as a return to accountability, suggesting that long-standing bureaucrats should face the same job insecurity they’ve helped impose on millions in the private sector.
A Potential Paradigm Shift in American Governance
If the D.O.G.E initiative hits its targets, Trump could oversee the smallest federal workforce since 1947. Such a move would not only set a modern record but also potentially redefine the executive branch’s relationship with the administrative state.
Whether this strategy is celebrated as long-overdue reform or criticized for risking service disruptions, it marks a significant shift in federal governance. And with Trump moving faster than any of his predecessors, history may well remember this as the era when the government itself finally went on a diet.
