Trump orders mass firings at federal agencies

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 and Homeland Security, 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.

At Homeland Security, 405 people were cut, including more than 130 at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and more than 200 at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, according to a department spokesperson.

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.