The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Corporation for National and Community Service and the Department of Education are the three government agencies that have seen the sharpest decreases in their workforces during President Donald Trump’s second term, according to a report.
Since assuming office, the administration has made trimming down federal bureaucracy and streamlining services one of its key priorities. To that end, Trump created the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), an agency spearheaded by billionaire and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, until he left the White House in May 2025 following disagreements with the president.
The administration also implemented hiring freezes and mass layoffs and in February 2025 issued a directive giving federal employees the choice of accepting a resignation package which included salary payments until the end of September or risk future layoffs.
According to a report by the nonpartisan group the Partnership for Public Service, from September 2024 to January 2026, most federal agencies saw their workforce decrease, with USAID being cut by 94.6 percent.
Newsweek reached out to the White House by email outside of normal business hours for comment.
Why It Matters
There are 2.4 million federal workers in the U.S., according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Declining numbers of federal workers in certain agencies will have huge impacts on operations across different parts of government and could disrupt services. Trump’s changes to the federal workforce have also triggered backlashes and legal challenges.
What To Know
The report found that from September 2024 to January 2026, the number of federal employees had decreased by 12 percent. It said this meant the federal workforce by January 2026 was the smallest it had been in at least 15 years.
Below, Newsweek has outlined the 10 agencies where the workforce decreased the most:
- USAID—94.6 percent
- Corporation for National and Community Service—47.1 percent
- Department of Education—45.1 percent
- General Services Administration—36.8 percent
- Office of Management and Budget—35.2 percent
- U.S. Agency for Global Media—34.5 percent
- Office of Personnel Management—33.7 percent
- Peace Corps—33 percent
- National Science Foundation—32.8 percent
- Department of Housing and Urban Development—32.2 percent
On his first day back in office, Trump ordered a 90-day pause on all foreign assistance, which shuttered offices and halted the agency’s operations around the world.
In the White House’s “Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid” executive order of January 20, 2025, the administration argued that “the United States foreign aid industry and bureaucracy are not aligned with American interests and in many cases antithetical to American values.”
In March 2025, Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on X: “After a six-week review, we are officially canceling 83 percent of the programs at USAID.”
The report also found that the Department of Homeland Security was the only federal agency that increased its workforce in the same period—by 0.4 percent.
Meanwhile, Newsweek reported that fired federal workers have suffered from poor mental health, while others have struggled to find jobs in the private sector.
What Happens Next
As his presidency continues, Trump will likely enact further changes to the federal workforce. The Partnership for Public Service said in its report: “We will continue to analyze and share data on how the workforce is changing over time.”
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