'disappointing' Doge: Federal Workforce Shrinking By Just 1% Shows Bureaucracy's Entrenchment, Experts Say

Data indicating nan national workforce shrank by conscionable 1% complete nan first fewer months of President Donald Trump’s 2nd word shows a "disappointing effect of DOGE" and nan level of bureaucracy’s entrenchment successful America, experts told Fox News Digital. 

Figures released by nan U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) show that nan United States employs 2,289,472 national workers arsenic of March 31, which is down from 2,313,216 connected September 30, 2024.  The simplification of much than 23,000 positions "reflects nan administration’s early efforts to streamline authorities and destruct unnecessary bureaucracy," OPM said successful a property release.   

"That's conscionable done nan extremity of March. So I fishy those numbers will beryllium higher by nan extremity of September this year, which is erstwhile a batch of nan early status packages– and buyouts – spell into effect," Alex Nowrasteh, nan Cato Institute’s vice president for economical and societal argumentation studies, told Fox News Digital. 

"Regardless of what those numbers are, this is not capable group having been terminated. It is not capable shrinkage successful nan national workforce. And it is simply a disappointing effect of DOGE that it wasn't capable to summation nan size of nan alteration successful nan national workforce," he added. 

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President Donald Trump, left, and Elon Musk, nan erstwhile caput of nan Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). (Reuters)

Trump signed an executive bid successful February instructing nan Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to coordinate pinch national agencies and execute monolithic cuts successful national authorities staffing numbers.   

That bid is reflected successful nan caller data, OPM said, showing that agencies averaged 23,000 caller monthly hires from April 2024 to January 2025 but dropped by astir 70% to conscionable 7,385 per period erstwhile nan hiring frost was afloat implemented. 

Peter Morici, an economist and business professor astatine nan University of Maryland, told Fox News Digital that "Basically, Elon Musk poured a fewer teacups of crystal h2o into nan water to combat its rising temperature." 

Protesters rally extracurricular nan Theodore Roosevelt Federal Building office of nan U.S. Office of Personnel Management connected Feb. 5, 2025 successful Washington, D.C.  (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

"It's very difficult to get free of group unless you get free of functions. See, he was capable to decimate USAID because he took distant each their money," Morici said. "It's very, very difficult to trim down nan Commerce Department unless you, for example, don't want nan numbers collected." 

"It takes much than 4 years," Morici besides said. "Look astatine nan problems they're having conscionable pinch Medicare reform, really each nan typical interests travel out. Over nan years, nan national bureaucracy is not conscionable successful Washington, but it's been dispersed passim nan country." 

"And arsenic you talk astir cutting it down, you're talking astir affecting section economies, nan interests of congressmen, and truthful forth," he added. 

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Elon Musk is seen wearing a DOGE hat. ( Francis Chung/Politico/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

DOGE did not instantly respond to a petition for remark from Fox News Digital. 

David Hebert, an economist pinch nan American Institute for Economic Research, said nan simplification reported by OPM "is surely a start." 

"The existent situation that President Trump is facing is nan truth that nan national authorities has taken upon itself acold excessively galore responsibilities," he added successful a connection to Fox News Digital. "If nan President and Congress are superior astir streamlining government, they request to move beyond ‘waste, fraud, and abuse’ and look to shedding responsibilities that nan national authorities ought not person successful nan first place." 

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OPM said "hundreds of thousands much workers" will driblet from nan rolls successful October 2025, erstwhile much workers depart via nan Deferred Resignation Program that was offered to labor successful an effort to trim nan workforce.   

Tens of thousands of labor who are successful nan process of being terminated stay connected nan authorities payroll owed to tribunal orders that are presently being challenged by nan administration, according to OPM. 

Elon Musk receives a aureate cardinal from U.S. President Donald Trump successful nan Oval Office astatine nan White House successful Washington, D.C., connected May 30, 2025.  (Reuters/Nathan Howard)

"The American group merit a authorities that is lean, efficient, and focused connected halfway priorities," Acting OPM Director Charles Ezell said successful a statement. 

"This information marks nan first measurable measurement toward President Trump’s imagination of a disciplined, accountable national workforce, and it’s only nan beginning." 

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Trump's effort to shrink nan national workforce has faced stiff guidance from Democrats and various courts, pinch opponents saying that nan management is cutting captious jobs. 

Fox News Digital’s Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.