Government Shrinks Workforce but Spending Keeps Rising

In 2025, the federal government saw a big drop in employees. The number went down by about 9%, from 3. 015 million to 2. 744 million. This was a big deal because it was the largest reduction in peacetime history. At the same time, government spending didn't slow down. In fact, it went up by nearly 6%, from $7. 135 trillion to $7. 558 trillion. This was a problem because the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) had promised to cut spending. DOGE was led by Elon Musk for a short time. He left in May and said he wouldn't do it again. He claimed DOGE stopped some wasteful spending but didn't meet his big savings goals.Some parts of the government saw cuts. The US Agency for International Development (USAID) was even shut down and merged with the State Department. The State Department and the Department of Education also spent less money. But other parts of the government spent more. The Department of Defense, Homeland Security, and Justice all saw increases. Most of the government's spending is on things like Social Security and interest on the national debt. These things are on "policy autopilot, " meaning they keep going up no matter what. Musk focused on the workforce reductions, saying he "reprogrammed the matrix. " But the big picture is that government spending keeps rising, even as the number of workers goes down.