Trump Is Making the Government More Efficient Through Prudent Cuts

As President Donald Trump works to downsize the federal government and cut waste, fraud, and abuse from the budget, liberals have predictably pilloried this effort, suggesting that any cuts will necessarily make the government less efficient and less responsive to the needs of the American people. But the Trump administration’s record thus far suggests that the opposite is true – strategically reining in the federal behemoth can better ensure taxpayers get the high-quality services they expect and deserve.

The idea that the size of the government from a raw personnel standpoint is directly proportional to its ability to serve the American people is ridiculous on its face. In 2000, federal employment, excluding the Postal Service, stood at 1,855,900 people. By 2024, that number had ballooned to 2,405,100. Does anyone really believe that growth in personnel has corresponded with the government doing a better job at serving the public?

The Trump administration understands that this growth is unsustainable, and that it is not producing better outcomes. Through prudent and careful study, Trump and his team are reviewing the current responsibilities of various government agencies and eliminating some functions while reassigning others elsewhere. Furthermore, the Trump administration has shown a thoughtful willingness to pare down its own plans when evidence shows that deeper cuts would be harmful. This balancing act is critical in wisely spending taxpayer dollars and ensuring Americans get the services they rely on.

Through June, the Trump administration had cut around 60,000 federal workers, according to NPR. However, more cuts have followed since then as several court rulings came out which opened up the door to firings. Most notably, on July 8, the Supreme Court, in an 8-1 decision, gave the green light for the Trump administration to pursue a massive reorganization of the federal government.

Another victory for the administration came earlier this month when the Supreme Court ruled the Department of Education could move forward with its plan to cut 1,400 employees, representing about 33 percent of its workforce.

Activist federal judges declared the reduction of employees would harm the Department’s ability to “carry out its statutory functions.” But as the Trump administration argued, it is not for the judicial branch to tell the executive branch the best way to execute the laws – as the Constitution clearly lays out.

While Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said it would take an act of Congress to actually dissolve the department, that should not prevent it from making reasonable decisions to transfer responsibilities to better-suited agencies. For example, the Trump administration worked with the Department of Labor to shift responsibility for workforce development programs, according to Education Week. Trump’s team also proposed transferring certain financial aid responsibilities to the Treasury Department.

At other times, the federal government has changed its plans to cut back employees, which shows the firings are not being done haphazardly.

“The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has abandoned plans to cut more than 80,000 employees, scaling back that number to just under 30,000 after a massive outcry from veterans, advocacy groups and lawmakers and an exodus of individuals from the agency,” The Hill reported on July 7.

Even the full 83,000 employee “reduction in force” (RIF) would have simply returned staffing levels to the 400,000 or so employees working at the VA as of 2019. But in this case the Trump administration was doing what good leaders do – listening to stakeholders and adjusting plans accordingly. This willingness to find compromises while preserving core agency missions is a refreshing change from decades of uncontrolled bloat and growth in spending.

As the VA explained on July 7, these cuts are a necessary result of streamlining services, noting the VA currently “operates 274 separate call centers that are not connected to one another” and “the Veterans Health Administration, Veterans Benefits Administration and National Cemetery Administration all run duplicative and costly administrative functions that can be centralized or restructured.”

The proof is also in the pudding – the VA has shed 17,000 workers since Trump took office, but the “disability claims backlog is already down nearly 30 percent.” That directly refutes liberal claims that fewer staffers means worse service – in this case, the exact opposite was true. As the agency became leaner, service for veterans became better.

Other staffing cuts are likely related to the $14 million the VA was spending on “diversity, equity, and inclusion” programs. If anything, those programs were only making things worse for veterans who rely on VA services.

Similar efforts have been undertaken at the State Department under Secretary Marco Rubio. He now has the backing of the Supreme Court to continue with his “reorganization” of Foggy Bottom and lay off around 3,000 workers, according to CBS News. There are currently around 75,000 State Department employees. As Secretary Rubio explained in April, the reorganization is being done not just to shrink the size of the federal government, but to actually serve America’s interests, saying, “everything takes too much time, costs too much money, involves too many individuals, and all too often ends up failing the American people.”

The administration also has exempted key roles from its broad hiring freeze, which it recently extended through October. A July 7 executive order exempts “immigration enforcement, national security, and public safety positions,” including “roles like Department of Veterans Affairs medical personnel, food safety inspectors, firefighters, air traffic controllers, and National Weather Service employees.”

“The American people elected President Trump to drain the swamp and end ineffective government programs that empower government without achieving measurable results,” the executive order notes.

Indeed, any good organization would regularly review its staffing and ensure that it is focused not on being a make-work operation, but on delivering what its customers deserve. In this case, the American public wants their Social Security checks delivered on time, disability claims processed, and education handled where it belongs – at the state and local level.

Through his prudent, but bold, restructuring of the federal government, Trump is ensuring the taxpayer gets the best return on investment for their hard-earned dollars.

Matt Lamb is a contributor for AMAC Newsline and an associate editor for The College Fix. He previously worked for Students for Life of America, Students for Life Action, and Turning Point USA. He previously interned for Open the Books. His writing has also appeared in the Washington Examiner, The Federalist, LifeSiteNews, Human Life Review, Headline USA, and other outlets. The opinions expressed are his own. Follow him @mattlamb22 on X.