Trump order causes 377,000 federal layoffs, hits red‑state rural areas

President Donald Trump signed an executive order in February 2025 that gave the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) authority to restructure the federal workforce. The restructuring resulted in more than 377,000 federal employees being laid off by January 2026, with cuts of 25 % or more in ten states that supported Trump in the 2024 election and that have large rural populations. Red‑state strongholds such as Alabama and Utah were heavily affected; Utah’s Treasury Department lost about 1,500 jobs, an 18 % reduction, while the Small Business Administration and USAID also saw large staff cuts. Hawaii, a blue state, recorded the highest proportional loss.

NBC News reporter Ashley Mowreader noted, “Across all departments, close to half of federal job cuts from June 2025 to January 2026 impacted more staff in states with a larger‑than‑average share of rural residents.” Trump defended the order, saying, “By eliminating waste, bloat, and insularity, my administration will empower American families, workers, taxpayers, and our system of government itself.”

Amid the layoffs, a whistleblower alleged that a DOGE employee was planning to sell sensitive Social Security data to a private company, prompting heightened congressional scrutiny over data security and oversight of the agency’s expanded powers.