Shootings at Brown University, MIT 'cracked' by homeless hero now 'entitled' to $50K reward: feds The roughly 271,000 people who exited federal roles include about 154,000 who took buyouts and others who were cut through a series of scorched-earth mass-terminations that hit agencies such as the now-eliminated formerly 10,000-man USAID. The current federal employment was slightly lower in 2014 under then-President Barack Obama and between much of 2003 and 2007 under George W. Bush. The civilian workforce has not been less than 2.7 million since 1966 — when the US population was 42% smaller than it is today — meaning that further reductions in Trump could set 60-year lows next year. Musk, pictured in the Oval Office with President Trump in February, led DOGE’s efforts to streamline the government. AFP via Getty Images Musk, who recently rekindled his relationship with Trump after a bitter falling out in June, did not celebrate a less-flattering assessment made by the Cato scholars: that DOGE’s work didn’t result in lower federal spending. In fact, federal spending was higher each month of Trump’s first year back in office than under former President Joe Biden, Chanwong and Nowrasteh found by analyzing Treasury Department monthly statements. "DOGE did not reduce spending, but it did reduce federal employment by nine percent in less than 10 months." https://t.co/Gy4D52LQhC via @CatoInstitute @AlexNowrasteh pic.twitter.com/vFflFJ14mX