Carol Platt Liebau: For Once, Our Government Is Shrinking

Wednesday, September 3, 2025

Ronald Reagan, one of our greatest presidents, once quipped that “The closest thing to eternal life on earth is a government program.” But when it comes to government employment, the Trump Administration is turning that truism on its head.

Thanks to DOGE, the US government will have three hundred thousand fewer people working for it. That’s the largest single-year cut in civilian federal employment since World War II.

The total reduction amounts to a 12-and-a-half percent decrease in the federal workforce. Such a rapid cut is virtually unheard of.

Twenty percent of the departing bureaucrats were fired. But the rest — eighty percent — took advantage of buyouts or other programs that pay them while they look for another job.

For once, our government has shrunk in real terms. All Americans save a little tax money — and are just a little more free — as a result.

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