Federal Workforce Loses 271,000+ Jobs as OMB Director Vought Faces Morale Crisis and Budget Cuts
From Director of the Office of Management and Budget - 101 by Inception Point Ai
April 30, 2026 · 3 min
About this episode
Russ Vought discusses the significant job losses in the federal workforce and the resulting morale crisis amid budget cuts.
Russ Vought, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, faces criticism for recent federal workforce changes revealed in new Office of Personnel Management data up to February 2026. The Revolving Door Project reports that over 271,825 federal jobs were lost since last year, with 138,541 from the Deferred Resignation Program, a January offer to over two million workers to stop working until September while keeping pay, aimed at slashing staff. Morale has plummeted, according to Public Policy Solutions research in their Federal Public Service in Peril report. No agency scored 50 or higher on the Engagement and Satisfaction Index this year, down sharply from last year. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau fell from 71.0 to 8.1, the Federal Trade Commission from 77.8 to 34.3, and the Securities and Exchange Commission from 84.2 to 31.3. Voughts policies now limit positive performance reviews to normalize ratings, increasing those scoring three out of five from 34.9 percent to 46.8 percent. These quotas exempt political appointees in Schedule C and Schedule G roles, fueling charges of politicization. Surveys show only 25.2 percent of employees feel protected from favoritism…
People in this episode
Guest: Russ Vought
Topics covered
- federal workforce
- job loss
- morale crisis
- budget cuts
- government policy
- employee satisfaction
Keywords
- federal jobs
- morale
- budget proposal
- defense spending
- employee engagement
- politicization
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Office of Management and Budget, Office of Personnel Management, Revolving Door Project, Public Policy Solutions, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Federal Trade Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission
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