President Donald Trump’s administration carried out mass firings Thursday and Friday across the federal government, affecting thousands of workers who had been on the job for less than two years.
The terminations affected some of the most widely respected federal agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as lower-profile offices with critical roles in the nation’s security such as the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). That agency designs, builds and oversees the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile.
The cuts, affecting employees categorized as “probationary,” are the latest step in the far-reaching plans by Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk to slash the size of the government.
In the federal government, nearly all new hires begin with a probationary period of a year, sometimes more, where they have fewer protections, making them easy targets for the Trump administration.
The purge, just ahead of a long President’s Day weekend, was swift. Some employees at the CDC were told they had two hours to collect their belongings and leave before losing access to the building, according to a CDC employee.
Some employees reacted with alarm, not only at their personal circumstances but also at the potential consequences for the nation of having a less capable federal workforce.
“The brain trust that was just terminated is insane,” said a nuclear safety specialist at the NNSA who was fired Thursday. She said her job was ensuring that the nuclear facilities in four states were safe. Like others affected by the firings, she spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The Trump administration imposed the job cuts unilaterally, without seeking the approval of Congress to shrink or overhaul federal agencies. Democrats, labor unions and progressive organizations have protested that the moves by Musk and Trump are unlawful and violate the Constitution’s separation of powers giving Congress authority over federal spending. More than 60 lawsuits against the Trump administration alleging executive overreach and other violations are pending.
The firings affected more than 3,000 people at the U.S. Forest Service and more than 1,000 at the Department of Veterans Affairs, Reuters reported.
Hundreds of thousands of people could be affected, according to data from the Office of Personnel Management, although the full scope of the firings was not immediately clear. OPM officials began the process for the mass firings Thursday as they met with agency leaders and advised them to dismiss probationary employees, according to a person familiar with the matter.
“The probationary period is a continuation of the job application process, not an entitlement for permanent employment,” OPM said in a statement Friday.
“Agencies are taking independent action in light of the recent hiring freeze and in support of the President’s broader efforts to restructure and streamline the federal government to better serve the American people at the highest possible standard,” the office said.
McLaurine Pinover, an OPM spokesperson, said she did not have a tally of the number of firings because agencies aren’t due to report back their totals until 8 p.m. Tuesday. She said that, to her knowledge, no federal agency was spared entirely. She also said that the firings of probationary employees were separate from any actions taken by Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The mass firings are in addition to the voluntary “deferred resignation” program that the Trump administration has offered to federal workers who agree to quit later this year in exchange for still being paid for several more months. About 75,000 people had accepted that offer as of Wednesday, according to the White House; NBC News cannot independently verify the number.
The administration is aiming to cut up to 10% of the federal workforce.
Musk has dismissed the idea that his cuts could cause harm. In a social media post at 1:42 a.m. on Friday, he compared the government to a broken computer.
“Have you tried turning the government off and on again?” he posted on X.
Musk and Trump are scheduled to sit for a joint interview Tuesday with Fox News host Sean Hannity.
Federal employee compensation makes up about 6.6% of the overall budget, so even mass firings are unlikely to have a major impact on the government’s budget deficit.
In the federal government, a probationary period applies to new employees and employees new in their roles, regardless of their performance.
One employee of the Department of Housing and Urban Development showed NBC News a copy of their last performance review with an “exceeds fully successful” rating. That employee received an email Friday saying their employment was being terminated “as part of a workforce restructuring.” The email also said they did not have a right to file a grievance over the termination.
At some agencies, the administration appears to be using a meat axe rather than a scalpel. Senior level HUD managers were told in meetings to eventually expect an overall reduction in force of up to 50%, two HUD employees said. They said there had not yet been a widely distributed email about the plans.
At the CDC, the cuts affected nearly 1,300 probationary employees, or about 10% of the agency’s workforce, according to The Associated Press.
A technologist at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau who was fired Thursday said they were doing alright personally but were stressed about the dismantling of their agency.
“I feel so devastated for what this means for consumers and the CFPB’s ability to protect consumers from shady practices,” they said.
“I came to government to serve the public and protect people and, by eliminating our technologists, they’ve hindered the CFPB’s ability to look into bad practices by Big Tech, especially as more and more of them enter the consumer finance space,” they added.
The CFPB opened relatively recently, in 2011, as part of Congress’ response to the 2008-2009 global financial crisis. It targets unlawful debt collection practices and similar abuses, while many Republicans have long argued that its rules are too burdensome for legitimate businesses.
Musk and Trump have called for shutting down the CFPB as well as other federal offices such as the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Education Department.
At the Energy Department, probationary employees were terminated Thursday and staff were briefed on a plan for a large-scale “reduction in force” to begin within 30 days, according to a source familiar with the briefing. The plan included a schedule to bring many employees back to physical offices by the end of March, the source said.
A document posted on the website of NASA and dated Tuesday says that the space agency is also planning for a reduction in force, though it doesn’t say how widespread it would be. A NASA spokesperson said Friday that the agency is “complying with the guidance and direction provided by OPM” and that “it’s premature to discuss the impact to our agency.”
While Americans are split on whether the government should be bigger or smaller, many federal agencies are widely admired by the general public. NASA is the third most-admired federal agency, with 67% of U.S. adults holding a favorable view of it, according to a survey last year by the Pew Research Center. The CDC was No. 4, with 55% saying they had a favorable view.
Now, some fired workers face dire personal circumstances, especially in a difficult job market.
“I will say, on a personal level, I am terrified,” said the former NNSA nuclear safety specialist. The now ex-employee has three children, including a 13-year-old and a 10-year-old who are both autistic and require extra support. The ex-employee said her husband is tied down to a job in New Mexico, where they live.
“I may have to move without my husband and kids to find a job,” she said, but that might be easier said than done “with the flood of federal people coming into the job market.”
At the NNSA, the termination notifications came by email with the subject line: “Notification of Termination During Probationary/Trial Period.”
Democrats and progressive advocacy groups searched for ways to push back on the cuts, including by highlighting the potential fallout for members of the public.
“Firing this many critical employees at once could make it impossible for our government to provide BASIC services,” said Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, in a post on Bluesky. She said other affected agencies included the Small Business Administration and the Department of Education.
Demonstrators gathered in near-freezing temperatures Friday for a “Defy DOGE” protest outside the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Speakers accused Musk of trying to further enrich himself, and one sign read: “No one voted for Elon Musk.”
HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon defended changes at the department.
“HHS is following the Administration’s guidance and taking action to support the President’s broader efforts to restructure and streamline the federal government. This is to ensure that HHS better serves the American people at the highest and most efficient standard,” he said in an email.
The Trump administration had been quietly preparing for the firings for weeks by gathering lists of recently hired employees who were still in their probationary period — before the full protections of the civil service had kicked in.
The process has at times been slapdash; the CIA sent its list of probationary employees in an unclassified email, prompting concern that foreign adversaries could obtain it.
