Federal workers responsible for America's nuclear weapons, scientists trying to fight a worsening outbreak of bird flu, and officials responsible for supplying electricity are among those who have been accidentally fired in President Donald Trump's rush to lay off tens of thousands of workers.
In an about face, the Trump administration is now rushing to rehire hundreds of these workers, revealing in the process how chaotic and potentially dangerous the rapid dismantling of the U.S. federal bureaucracy has been, labor union officials and governance experts told Reuters.
"This shows a level of absolute incompetence in the firing process," said Don Moynihan, a professor at the Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. "They are taking a chainsaw to public services without any kind of careful review of the people being removed and the tasks they are employed for."
Anna Kelly, White House deputy press secretary, told Reuters that Trump is moving swiftly to cut wasteful spending and non-critical government jobs.
"Any key positions that were eliminated are being identified and reinstated rapidly as agencies are streamlined to better serve the American people," Kelly said.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk and his young aides at the cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are in the midst of a radical downsizing of the federal bureaucracy at the behest of Trump, who views the government as bloated and corrupt.
DOGE did not respond to requests for comment.
They have adopted a blunt force approach toward the wholesale firing of workers, often focusing on categories of workers who are easier to fire, like probationary employees, rather than looking at individuals and the specific jobs they do.
That approach has led to a host of mistakes.
After nearly 180 workers were fired last week at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), an agency that manages the U.S. nuclear arsenal and secures dangerous radioactive materials around the world, all but 28 of those layoffs were later rescinded.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, whose department oversees the NNSA, told Scripps News on Wednesday that he had moved too quickly in firing workers there.
"When we made mistakes on layoffs at NNSA, we reversed them immediately, less than 24 hours. But the security of our country, our nuclear deterrence, our nuclear weapons, is critical, and we ... don't take that lightly," Wright said.
The rescinding of the layoffs at NNSA came after managers got emails saying "STOP ALL ACTIONS WITH TERMINATIONS", according to a copy of the message seen by Reuters.
The impact was still reverberating on Thursday.
"Not a lot of work is getting done because people are shell shocked," one Energy Department source told Reuters.
Geraldine Richmond, until last month an Energy Department under secretary, told a congressional hearing on Thursday that the speed of the cuts could have long-term impacts on national security and morale among a workforce that handles classified information.
Previous cuts, she said, took nearly two years to execute.
Musk, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office next to Trump last week, said, "We are moving fast, so we will make mistakes, but we'll also fix the mistakes very quickly."
And asked on Tuesday if he had any concerns about the re-hiring of workers who had been fired, Trump said, "No, not at all." He called the work by DOGE "amazing."
BIRD FLU SCIENTISTS
The U.S. Department of Agriculture this week rehired three workers it fired on February 14 from a laboratory network critical to the agency's response on bird flu, said Keith Poulsen, director of the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, told Reuters.
The staff worked at the program office of the National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN), which coordinates more than 60 labs across the country, many of which process bird flu samples from animals.
Bird flu has infected nearly 1,000 dairy cattle and killed millions of poultry in the past year in an ongoing outbreak that has also sickened nearly 70 people and sharply raised the price of eggs.
The USDA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Labor unions have gone to court to slow down the government overhaul and have won some initial victories, but they have also suffered some setbacks.
Steve Lenkart, executive director of the National Federation of Federal Employees, a union which represents 110,000 government workers, said the firings, rehirings and the targeting of workers critical to public safety showed a disregard by Musk and Trump for the important role government plays in people's lives.
"They are not making educated decisions which should be alarming to every American," Lenkart said.
Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, the largest government workers union representing 800,000 federal employees, called the layoffs "reckless."
FIRED THEN REHIRED
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), which fired 1,000 probationary employees this week, is also working to rehire a number of employees who worked on the Veterans Crisis Line, according to Democratic U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth, herself a military veteran.
"After I raised these cases to the VA and spoke out about them, it sounds like, thankfully, at least some of these employees will be rehired," Duckworth said on her X social media account.
At the Bonneville Power Administration, a public power agency that runs a large hydroelectric dam in the Pacific Northwest, about 200 workers were fired last week.
About 30 were rehired this week after a public outcry over the reliability of the electric supply, according to an aide to Democratic U.S. Senator Patty Murray of Washington State, whose constituents are served by the agency.
Nick Bednar, an associate professor of law at the University of Minnesota Law School who has been tracking the government layoffs, said the sledgehammer approach by Trump and Musk is starting to show vulnerabilities.
"They have started to realize that when they adopt that approach, things break very quickly," Bednar said.
© Thomson Reuters 2025.
51 Comments
plasticmonkey
No, it’s just an illegal power grab.
TaiwanIsNotChina
It's almost like rule by idiot doesn't work too well.
Yrral
Trump will send US into a recession
theFu
And we knew that was the situation from his first term in office. It is embarrassing that so many Americans chose that level of absolute incompetence.
There are some problems that can't be solved with a dart board, so having a 1-line answer is a warning, not something Americans really want. The real world is seldom so simple.
Underworld
They demonstrated no actual waste. And they have been indiscriminate citing poor performance on people who have had great performance reviews.
And then there is the firing of key people and scrambling to rehire them.
All this demonstrates and amazing level on incompetence, that if they had performance reviews, would be sacked themselves.
ok1517
"a level of absolute incompetence in the firing process"
Not just the firing process!
That whole Donald administration is nothing but an assembly of the least qualified!
A vaccine denier / refuser - J.F.Kennedy jr.
A Russian asset - Tulsi Gabbard
A puppy killer wanting to go on a manhunt - Noem
Stone, Kushner, Flynn and so many others with great connections to that Kremlin dic(k)tator
Even Donald himself a Russian asset as latest unbiased news shows.
Yrral
The AP.has filed lawsuits against Trump Chief of Staff,Press Secretary and another officials,they have to.hire a private lawyer at their own expense Google AP Trump Lawsuit
patkim
All of these cuts are illegal. For many of these jobs, their contracts states that there is a 30 day notice that is needed before they are fired. In addition, these people who are fired, were not given the proper cause as to why they were hired, just some fabricated lie that they did not meet a standard. It is why many of them are now going forth with taking it to the courts.
factchecker
It's a total clown show.
Yrral
It not gonna save money paying people to settle lawsuits against the government,they should sue Musk.privately and get his illegal immigration violations,so.he can be denaturize
patkim
We've all come to the point, were we all know that this now has nothing to do about getting rid of waste. If it was, you wouldn't send in people, who have no idea, qualifications, or experience with identifying, understanding, analyzing proper data, and dealing with "waste".
In the end, getting rid of or severely gutting essential agencies like FEMA (if there is another natural disaster like a hurricane, you can expect no federal funding in the future), The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (which yearly returns billions of dollars to consumers who were being taken advantage of by corrupt banks and corporations), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (which monitors our weather and gives timely updates on severe weather patterns to give ample warning to people) among others, will severely damage the quality of people's lives. This is all over the point to save money for cuts for the ultra-rich.
stormcrow
Musk might be a genius in the high tech business world, but it also looks like he’d fire everybody if AI allowed him to. He’s like the terminator, no heart. Oh, and he wasn’t even born on U.S. soil, which is good because he can never be president. Still, with this president maybe that doesn’t really matter.
bass4funk
Good, then fight or get out of the way.
Not really
itsonlyrocknroll
Elon Musk has revealed that he has Asperger's syndrome, a neurological disorder that can cause difficulty making eye contact.
I really don't understand the logic behind Elon Musk, chain saw, dark glasses. crazed expression.
I think the message spending taxpayers money must be managed, accountable to the electorate, is essential.
bass4funk
No, they are not
The Federal Government has the absolute right to cut any job or waste where they see fit if it’s financially feasible or necessary.
You can legally fire or dismiss Federal employees without notice under certain circumstances:
Misconduct or National Security Concerns “ If an employee commits serious misconduct, violates security rules, or engages in illegal activity, they can sometimes be fired immediately or placed on administrative leave pending further action.
At-Will Appointees Some political appointees and temporary employees serve and can be removed without notice.
For state and local government employees, rules vary but often follow similar due process protections unless they are at-will employees.
So it would seem at this point the dismissal was justifiable since it happens all the time, when Dems did the same thing to Bush and Trump employees not a sound from the left. They will be ok.
lincolnman
Trump 2,0 - All incompetence, all the time...
I'veSeenFootage
Confusion? There's no confusion here, it's just pure unadultered competence.
Even Trump fans can't defend this. They can only pretend they "love it lol"., because actually admitting their god-king made the slightest mistake would be denying everything they built their personalities on.
Amber
Just great, love it! Lol
I agree! The US going down in flames. Popcorn please.
patkim
This is so sad. They are in effect losing many highly qualified people by doing this. They know nothing about Human Resources and how hard it is to hire quality people. Even Trump himself can't hire qualified, ethical people. His way of hiring is asking "Will you follow my every step and not disagree with me?" If the answer is yes, he or she is hired.
TaiwanIsNotChina
No I think we'll stay and watch the public realize that voting in fascists has consequences. It will be a lesson learned for generations.
bass4funk
They already did and, as a result, rejected it. This is a good point.
lincolnman
Just look at that picture at the top - is it some ad for a cheap slasher movie?
No, that's the head of a government agency that is firing our experts securing our nuclear weapons...one who is also an admitted illegal immigrant and likes to go around giving "Heil" salutes...
Let's just ne honest, Musk is bonkers crazy - he needs an immediate mental health intervention and a padded room...
lincolnman
Just one month and....
Inflation is rising everywhere - and will only get worse as Trump's tariffs raise prices...
The stock market is tanking as big business reels from Trump's incompetence...
Countries around the world laugh at us in open ridicule...except Russia - they laugh at us and congratulate themselves...
Just wait until we get to the six month mark - we may not have a country left...
wallace
Thousands of fired workers will eventually be replaced with more expensive contractor workers. If it gets out of hand Trump will blame Musk and will fire him. Musk's daily pay at DOGE is $8 million per day. Where are the savings with that?
tooheysnew
Trump has been sending out emails asking them ‘should I fire Elon musk ?’
seems like this is how he’s determining his policies
Tokyo Guy
it only doesn't make sense if you expect it to make sense.
It's a ketamine-addled manchild drunk on power and doing whatever he feels like. It's why he gets on so well with Trump; they are both phenomenally capricious and vengeful people.
It will be a small miracle if their meddling doesn't lead to at least one major disaster of some kind; my money's on military, aviation, or health related.
Tokyo Guy
Trump has been sending out emails asking them ‘should I fire Elon musk ?’
The reply will probably be:
"You may not, otherwise he will reveal everything he knows. And he knows it all. And so do I. Best regards, Big Balls".
TokyoLiving
If you think the left is ridiculous, look the new far right..
Especially the MAGA. It's the bazaar of extreme megalomaniac far right psychos in a frenzy..
Germany 1933 2.0, here we gooo!!!..
TokyoLiving
Same as Germany in 1933..
Some dude
Countries around the world laugh at us in open ridicule...except Russia - they laugh at us and congratulate themselves...
Unfortunately true, can confirm the first part as a UK citizen.
It's a genuine shame, as there are things about the US that are worthy of genuine respect, admiration even, but those things are being bulldozed in the name of I don't know what. Theocracy, maybe? Submission to Putin? Straight up revenge against perceived enemies?
So far, the only saving grace I've seen is Kendrick Lamar at the superbowl. He's more or less single handedly keeping America's reputation out of the lowest recesses of the toilet.
I think even we (Brits) are surprised at how fast it's all come crashing down. We were fairly sure that re-electing Trump would be a disaster for the US, but the new administration seems hellbent on taking a wrecking ball to everything at dizzying speed.
bass4funk
Over the long run it will pay for itself to pay more for a few and better skilled workers over a dozen or hundreds of non-skilled workers
Some dude
What do Brits see crashing down
Well, not the price of eggs, that's one thing that's definitely not crashing down.
What is crashing down? Your country's international reputation. To us, and I imagine to anyone not in the republican cult, your leader has just outed himself as a Russian asset, and almost nobody is surprised.
stormcrow
“Trump still hasn’t brought down the price of eggs and gas. Planes on the other hand . . .”
I'veSeenFootage
But how do you know the fird workers were "non-skilled"? There was literally no review of their performance or even who they are or what they do.
Ah_so
They'll just re-hire workers they fired but at a higher wage.
I'veSeenFootage
Do you know what "unindicted co-conspirator" means? It certainly doesn't mean "debunked".
If you want to educate yourself: https://time.com/5610317/mueller-report-myths-breakdown/
Blacklabel
People get removed from their jobs all the time due to business needs/cost cutting.
they don’t get offered 8 months of salary on the way out either.
Feds need to quit their entitled whining.
I'veSeenFootage
The federal government is not supposed to be a business, and thinking it should be one is extremely silly.
Blacklabel
Why not?
we just accept our government to waste all our tax money?
this whole hearted support of continuing fraud, waste, abuse and inefficiency (to “get Trump”) is a losing game for the left,
Yrral
Tesla sales junk cars, Google Tesla Recall
I'veSeenFootage
Because the federal government purpose is not to "make money".
If you think roads, bridges, health care or food inspections are a waste of tax money, that's your problem.
Blacklabel
you know that is not what this is about.
it’s actually about eliminating fraud waste and abuse. Eliminating inefficiency, and keeping American tax money for Americans.
so that we have enough money for Americans to spend on all the great things you mentioned. For Americans.
theFu
All large organizations have waste. Some have fraud. The claims that USAID has either just aren't true to the level that Trump/Musk have guessed and broadcast. There are 3 different govt oversight groups who watch and approve all USAID expenses. So, if there is massive fraud, as claimed by Trump, all 3 of those oversight agencies are failures.
Absolute incompetence - that the statement to describe Trump this term.
I'm all for making govt smaller and more efficient. When so many lives are impacted by changes to govt service, best to measure twice, then cut. At least Trump is doing his part to ensure a democratic win in the next elections.
TaiwanIsNotChina
No Democrat has been a fascist in this country, but you are so cute for trying to claim so.
TaiwanIsNotChina
Except you aren't in favor of any of those things as MAGA lunatics voted against them in Congress many times.
lincolnman
ROFL...that's what the suckers believe...rational people know this is all about MONEY - for Trump and his ultra-rich buddies. They're going to rip through government, gutting checks and balances, and present the fake total as a way to give ANOTHER trillion dollar tax break to themselves...
For RICH Americans - the MAGA little guy gets nothing but the shaft...
Underworld
Blacklabel
If you think roads, bridges, health care or food inspections are a waste of tax money, that's your problem.
No, it isn't. It's about letting Elon loose in the government so that he can fire people who were investigating his companies.
As well as random cuts to essential staff.
More likely tax cuts to billionaires.
Desert Tortoise
DOGE doesn't have a plan, don't have the slightest idea how these government agencies work or what they do, they are clueless. The only thing that seems obvious is a visceral hatred of the US Government.
I was laughing at the DOGE turd claiming they "found $20 billion sitting in car in a bank parking lot". I just shook my head. What they discovered was a government agency had "parked" $20 billion in a "vehicle", meaning an investment of some sort at a bank. Then they have this big press release about it. That is how clueless these people are.
Yes it is easier to fire probationary employees but they are eating their young. Those young probationary employees are the nation's future. Us old gray heads were teaching them what they needed to know, the things you can't learn at any university, in our case how ordnance works, how to test it open air on a test range and in a 6DOF lab, how the war fighters will use it, etc. That has to be learned on the job during your probationary period. You fire them and there is nobody to fill the roles of the old gray heads when they retire. Plus the new hires bring with them awareness of new technologies that those of us who have been away from a university for a while are not well versed in but can learn from our new hires. The learning goes both ways. I loved giving the new hires a challenge and turning them loose. Now they being fired willy nilly and they won't return when / if sanity returns. A few might but most probably have a bad taste in their mouth and are young enough still to chart a different course in life outside of the government. It is a big loss for the nation but the DOGE turds are too blind by their hubris and hatred of the government to see it.
The whole thing is not well thought out and is ultimately destructive.
Desert Tortoise
Until last month I was one of those experienced workers you deride. I can honestly say that my economic analyses saved the Government hundreds of millions of dollars, far more money than they will ever pay me. I showed them how they were spending too much to maintain certain weapons and how it could be accomplished for a lot less. I'm pretty proud of that. Some of you have no idea what we do or how hard we try to do the right thing by the American people. I know, hundreds of millions is rounding error against an $800 Billion defense budget but I did what I could where I could. There are millions of government employees just like me trying to do the right things for the right reasons, for our country. I found it an honorable way to employ my talents, rather than making some crooks running a brokerage rich while they schemed ways to cheat the taxpayers.
bass4funk
Again, I understand, but cuts need to be made somewhere and depending on the circumstances I outlined, certain jobs will be eliminated, so either we bring the debt under control and cut as much as possible or we do nothing and continue to live this financially unsustainable status quo.
Blacklabel
A country 36 trillion+ in debt has be mature enough to understand a 5-10% cut in a non revenue generating/100% cost federal government is a no brainer.