The federal government has taken on 50,000 new employees since President Donald Trump assumed office, according to the nation’s top personnel official, with most positions tied to national security in line with the administration’s priorities.
Most of these additions serve within Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said Scott Kupor, the federal government’s chief human resources officer, during a Thursday night interview.
This staffing shift forms part of Trump’s broader effort to overhaul the structure of the federal workforce while significantly reducing positions in other sectors.
Kupor explained that the initiative centers on “reshaping the workforce” to align with what the administration views as its most critical goals.
Even as these new employees were added, hiring was halted and workers were laid off across multiple agencies, including the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Health and Human Services.
Kupor noted in August that the administration anticipated cutting roughly 300,000 federal jobs this year.
Earlier in January, Trump appointed billionaire Elon Musk to spearhead a plan aimed at reducing the 2.4-million-person civilian workforce, arguing it had grown overly large and inefficient.
As part of the reduction efforts, employees involved in enforcing civil rights protections, tax collection, and clean energy initiatives were dismissed.
Roughly 154,000 workers opted to take buyout packages offered by the administration, affecting numerous government services such as weather monitoring, food inspection, public health programs, and space-related operations, according to former workers and union representatives.
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