WASHINGTON – Thousands of recently hired federal workers were fired Thursday and Friday as President Donald Trump and top White House official Elon Musk escalated efforts to purge the federal workforce.
The cuts targeted probationary workers across all departments. Federal employees in probationary status have typically been hired in the past year. Probationary workers are easier to fire because they lack the bargaining rights of career employees to appeal their terminations.
Terminations were government-wide: from the Department of Education and Small Business Administration to the U.S. Forest Service, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the agency that oversees the nation’s fleet of nuclear weapons.
Veterans Affairs said Thursday it dismissed more than 1,000 of about 43,000 probationary employees across the department, producing an estimated savings of about $98 million.
“This was a tough decision, but ultimately it’s the right call to better support the Veterans, families, caregivers, and survivors the department exists to serve,” Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins said in a statement
