1 day ago
8
You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.
Employees of federal agencies continue to wrestle with the shocks of Elon Musk’s drive to purge the government of diversity programs and slash employment even as the billionaire leaves Washington.
Eileen Sullivan covers changes to the federal work force under the Trump administration. She reported from Washington.
May 29, 2025Updated 7:29 p.m. ET
A Forest Service employee spent his own money to mow the lawn at a government property he manages. Spending freezes and new bureaucratic sign-off requirements meant the agency could not pay for the routine service in a timely way.
A social scientist with the Internal Revenue Service went into the office after months on leave and found that his co-workers had already left the government or were on their way out.
Calls to the General Services Administration about routine work might or might not be answered because so many people have left, an official there said. Employees depart without any planning for who will take over their roles.
Elon Musk’s time with the federal government is up, but his chain saw approach to firing workers, freezing spending and canceling contracts continues to reverberate in the empty halls of agencies in Washington and around the country.
Current and former federal workers describe a government that in some cases remains paralyzed with uncertainty, waiting for direction from senior officials. Everyday tasks now take much longer, with added layers of supervisory approvals that they say make their work harder. Thousands of government employees are now being paid not to work, all in service of Mr. Musk’s efficiency mandate, which President Trump billed as a way to purge the government of diversity initiatives and as a cost-cutting initiative to better serve the American public. (There is scant evidence of any savings.)
And while Mr. Musk is going back to running his companies, the federal work force reductions he set in motion have yet to fully take effect. Tens of thousands of government workers have been braced for layoffs for more than a month.
