President Donald Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) efforts to reduce the federal government’s workforce were seemingly reflected in recently released data from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM).
The OPM’s data shows that the government’s civilian workforce shrank by 12% between September 2024 and January 2026, going from a headcount of 2,313,216 to 2,035,344.
Separate data, also released by the OPM, shows that the majority of employees who left during that time did so voluntarily rather than being forced out, Reuters reported. The outlet also noted that administrative staff, customer service representatives and IT managers were at the top of the list of positions that left once Trump returned to office.
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“Reshaping the federal workforce is essential to building a government that works for the American people, not the bureaucracy. By realigning roles, streamlining operations, and modernizing how agencies manage talent, we are strengthening performance and accountability across government. This effort ensures taxpayer dollars support a workforce that delivers efficient, responsive, and high-quality services,” OPM Director Scott Kupor told Fox Business.
The White House highlighted the billions of dollars saved by cutting the government workforce and underscored the president’s job creation in the private sector.
“President Trump’s pro-growth economic agenda is fueling American prosperity the right way. All of the job creation under President Trump has so far been in the private sector while federal government employment has shrunk to its lowest level since 1966 – projected to save taxpayers 29 billion dollars annually,” White House regional press secretary Liz Huston told Fox Business.
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During his 2024 campaign, Trump spoke about his desire to slash the government workforce through the creation of a new department, which would later be known as DOGE. The main backer of the idea, and the person who led the team until leaving the administration in May 2025, was billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
Musk championed the idea during his appearance at a Trump rally in Madison Square Garden in late October, just days before the 2024 election.
“Your money is being wasted, and the Department of Government Efficiency is going to fix that. We’re going to get the government off your back and out of your pocketbook,” he told the crowd.
On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order establishing DOGE as a temporary organization, giving it an expiration date of July 4, 2026. The order kicked off a temporary hiring freeze and the implementation of a hiring plan that restricted agencies to hiring one new employee for every four that departed.
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