Most key federal agencies have cut staff under Trump: report

A number of key federal agencies have seen their staff numbers decrease under the Trump administration, according to a report from The Washington Post.

The Post reported that every Cabinet agency has seen their permanent staff numbers shrink under Trump, with the exception of the departments of Homeland Security, Veterans Affairs and Interior. 

{mosads}The staff cuts represented a fulfillment of President Trump’s campaign promise to make cuts in the federal bureaucracy and reverse former President Obama’s hiring expansion. 

Trump is set to announce new cuts as part of the 2019 budget, which is aimed at decreasing the deficit to pay for the recently passed GOP-backed tax law. 

White House spokesman Raj Shah told the Post that the president “is committed to streamlining government for the 21st century, reducing bloat, duplication and waste, and focusing resources on key priorities like public safety and protecting our nation’s homeland.”

However, government workers have expressed anxiety over the cuts. 

“Morale has never been lower,” president of the National Treasury Employees Union Tony Reardon told the Post. “Government is making itself a lot less attractive as an employer.”