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Three numbers, one story: the US government shutdown
Graphic Truth

Three numbers, one story: the US government shutdown

Here is a look at how many workers of the 2 million civilian federal workers are in jeopardy until the government reopens.

Trump makes a speech from the Oval Office.
What We're Watching

Are Trump’s massive government layoffs permanent?

The outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported on Thursday that US employer layoffs surged by 245% last month — the largest spike since the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kremlin
What We're Watching

Are Russia and China trying to recruit disgruntled US federal employees?

China and Russia are reportedly looking to exploit US federal workforce cuts by targeting recently fired or at-risk federal employees in national security roles for recruitment, according to sources familiar with US intelligence. The quarries? Employees with top security clearances and information about America’s critical infrastructure and government operations.

​Elon Musk holds a chainsaw onstage as he attends the Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, on Feb. 20, 2025. The idea is that he's taking a chainsaw to the federal bureaucracy.
What We're Watching

Musk seeks productivity lists amid federal crackdown as discontent emerges

Mimicking a tactic he used to slash the size of Twitter’s workforce, White House senior adviser Elon Musk has instructed all 2.3 million federal employees to list five things they “accomplished last week" by midnight Monday. Some departments are instructing their employees to ignore the request.

​Elon Musk carries X Æ A-12 as President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 11, 2025.
What We're Watching

Musk and Trump announce new executive order to reduce federal workforce

Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday mandating federal agencies comply with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, to slash their workforces – ordering agency heads to hire no more than one employee for every four who leave or are fired.

Then-President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk watch the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket in Brownsville, Texas, in November 2024.
GZERO Explains

GZERO Explains: You’re Fired! “The Apprentice” comes to Washington

It’s not a reality TV show, but it sure feels like one. On Tuesday, the US government kickstarted a plan to trim the public service by offering a “deferred resignation program” to approximately two million civilian full-time federal employees. What is the offer? Is it legal? What will happen next? GZERO explains ...

Sen. Chris Coons on returning to offices in pandemic: OSHA is “AWOL”
Science & Tech

Sen. Chris Coons on returning to offices in pandemic: OSHA is “AWOL”

In a blistering response to questions about federal workers being asked to return to offices as COVID cases climb around the U.S., Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) says not enough prep work has been done to establish clear and consistent standards for safe workplaces. OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, has been "AWOL" on the matter,




Sen. Coons tells Ian Bremmer. "They have refused to issue an emergency standard for the return to work, which they could, and which would give both employers and employees a standard that they can look to for guidance about when and how it's safe to return to work," he said in an interview for GZERO World.