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The Cost

Topic

Federal Government

Mass layoffs, agency closures, impoundment, and the restructuring of the civil service - and what each change did to the services Americans rely on.

decisions
25
severe or critical
12
sources cited
129

All federal government decisions, newest first

  1. $810 million canceled without a vote

    Five days before the fiscal year ended, the White House used a pocket rescission - a tactic GAO calls illegal - to let bipartisan funding lapse.

  2. OPM becomes the judge of federal layoff appeals

    New rules move layoff, suitability and probationary appeals from the independent MSPB into OPM, with no court review of RIF appeal decisions.

  3. Troops in the capital, through the whole term

    The DC National Guard deployment was extended to January 2029 and peaked at ~5,000 troops in a summer 2026 surge, despite studies finding little effect on violent crime.

  4. Supreme Court ends FTC commissioners' removal protection

    In Trump v. Slaughter, the Supreme Court overruled a 91-year-old precedent, letting the president fire FTC commissioners at will.

  5. Longest shutdown in US history

    A 43-day lapse left 1.25 million workers unpaid and food aid delayed for tens of millions.

  6. Student loans overhauled; Grad PLUS ended

    New borrowing caps and a single repayment plan cut federal spending by ~$284B (CBO) by shifting costs onto borrowers.

  7. Library and copyright chiefs fired

    The Librarian of Congress and Copyright Register were ousted days apart, following the archivist's removal.

  8. AmeriCorps cut, then partly restored

    A move to cut ~90% of staff and ~$400M in grants disrupted national-service programs nationwide.

  9. Union rights stripped at most agencies

    A 'national security' order ended collective bargaining for about two-thirds of federal workers.

  10. Education Department ordered to dismantle itself

    An executive order put administration of $1.6T in student loans and services for 7.5 million disabled students at risk.

  11. GSA pushes to shed federal leases and buildings

    A DOGE-driven push to shed federal office space that critics said outran planning and risked selling public assets short.

  12. ~25,000 probationary employees fired; judge rules it unlawful

    OPM directed mass firings using 'performance' justifications a judge found pretextual.

  13. CFPB effectively shuttered; 1,700 jobs targeted

    The primary consumer-finance regulator was ordered closed, halting enforcement of lending and debt-collection laws.

  14. Three oversight watchdogs fired at once

    Removing the OSC, MSPB, and FLRA heads disabled the bodies protecting whistleblowers and fired workers.

  15. ~3,800 NIH/NSF grants cut or frozen; $3B affected

    Grant cancellations disrupted biomedical research with the Supreme Court allowing DEI terminations.

  16. DOGE reached Treasury systems before vetting was done

    DOGE staff, some before background checks were complete, reached a payment system holding records of nearly every American; a court blocked them, then later allowed access under conditions.

  17. 75,000 federal workers accept resignation buyout

    Mass simultaneous departures created agency knowledge gaps at a paid-leave cost GAO estimated at $6.7B for 2025.

  18. 17 inspectors general fired without notice

    A single night of firings left major agencies without independent watchdogs during DOGE cuts.

  19. National Parks lose 24% of permanent staff

    Ninety parks reported staffing impacts by July 2025, from shorter visitor-center hours to degraded emergency response.

  20. Appropriated funds withheld; GAO finds violations

    GAO cited multiple Impoundment Control Act violations as spending control shifted to the executive.

  21. SSA loses 7,500 workers; benefits delayed

    The largest SSA staffing cut degraded service for 75 million beneficiaries.

  22. IRS loses 31% of auditors nationwide

    Buyouts and firings cost the IRS nearly a third of its auditors, the agents who typically handle wealthy and corporate taxpayers.

  23. USAID shut down; aid cuts tied to 9.4M projected deaths

    The US eliminated its development agency, which had provided aid in more than 100 countries.

  24. Schedule F strips ~8,000 workers' protections

    At-will reclassification covers senior policy-role civil servants across regulatory agencies.

  25. DOGE created with sweeping data access

    The order opened agency systems to DOGE while Elon Musk, whose companies hold billions in federal contracts, served in the White House as a special government employee.