EDITORIAL: Trump makes headway on smaller federal workforce

For the first time in decades, the federal bureaucracy is getting smaller.

According to the latest federal jobs report, the government has shed roughly 271,000 civilian positions in the past year, putting President Donald Trump within striking distance of his stated goal to cut 300,000 federal jobs by year’s end. In an era when government seems only to grow in size and ambition, this reversal is an accomplishment.

As Eric Boehm of Reason points out, these cuts are a long-overdue acknowledgment that the federal government had become unwieldy, inefficient and unaccountable.

The federal workforce swelled past 3 million employees in 2024, its highest level since the mid-1990s. Today’s headcount brings us back to where we stood in 2015. Rolling back that bloat is no small feat, especially in the face of resistance from public-sector unions and entrenched special interests.

A leaner federal workforce matters because the government should not crowd out private enterprise or creating unnecessary layers of administration. When Washington grows without restraint, so do inefficiencies, delays and wasteful spending. Reducing headcount forces agencies to rethink priorities, streamline operations and justify the tasks they choose to keep. Taxpayers deserve nothing less.

Of course, as Mr. Boehm notes, cutting jobs is not a cure-all. Spending is the truest measure of government size. If agencies turn to contractors or shift employees into new programs, the benefit of President Trump’s reductions could evaporate. The administration should ensure that workforce downsizing is paired with genuine structural reforms, not merely reshuffling.

Yet even with those caveats, the importance of this year’s progress cannot be dismissed. For decades, Washington has operated under the assumption that our government must always increase in size. More programs, staff, and oversight are inevitable, while reductions are unthinkable. Even the smallest cut elicits howls of outrage. Remember how long it took to get rid of the Tea Tasting Board?

Mr. Trump’s reduction of the federal workforce represents a rare reversal of that mindset, and it deserves support. Cutting nearly 10 percent of federal positions in a single year is responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars that sends a clear message: Government should serve the people, not endlessly absorb their resources.

The United States thrives when innovation, opportunity and productivity come from the private sector, not from a swelling federal payroll. Shrinking the federal workforce is a step toward restoring that balance. The government can contract when leadership is willing to challenge the status quo. The White House should stay the course, lock in these gains and continue working toward a government that is leaner, more disciplined and more accountable.