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The last time we shrank the federal workforce

NPR | By Sarah Gonzalez,
Amanda Aronczyk, Willa Rubin, Jess Jiang
Published March 13, 2025 at 10:36 AM EDT
FILE - President Bill Clinton, left, and Vice President Al Gore walk past two forklifts carrying reams of federal rules and regulations prior to making their reinventing government announcement, Sept. 7, 1993, at the White House in Washington.
J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE
/
AP
FILE - President Bill Clinton, left, and Vice President Al Gore walk past two forklifts carrying reams of federal rules and regulations prior to making their reinventing government announcement, Sept. 7, 1993, at the White House in Washington.

If you cut every single federal job President Donald Trump wants to cut, how much money would that save?

A president has tried to massively shrink the size of the federal government before. It was in the 90s, under a Democrat.

Today on the show: Where they found waste the last time we really looked. (Hint: it wasn't jobs.) And why the pace of firings under Trump might start to slow down.

For more:
- Lessons for the Future of Government Reform
- Is government too big? Reflections on the size and composition of today's federal government
- Creating a Government That Works Better and Costs Less

This episode of Planet Money was produced by Willa Rubin. It was edited by Jess Jiang and engineered by Jimmy Keeley. We had fact-checking help from Sierra Juarez. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer. Special thanks to Ben Zipperer.

Find more Planet Money: Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Our weekly Newsletter

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Music: Audio Network - "West Green Road," "Raise Up," and "Blue and Green."

Copyright 2025 NPR

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Sarah Gonzalez
Sarah Gonzalez is a co-host and reporter with Planet Money, NPR's award-winning podcast that finds creative, entertaining ways to make sense of the big, complicated forces that move our economy.
Amanda Aronczyk
Amanda Aronczyk is a co-host and reporter for Planet Money, NPR's award-winning podcast that finds creative, entertaining ways to make sense of the big, complicated forces that move our economy.
See stories by Amanda Aronczyk
Willa Rubin
Willa Rubin covers energy for the NPR Business Desk. 
Jess Jiang
Jess Jiang is the producer for NPR's international podcast, Rough Translation. Previously, Jess was a producer for Planet Money. In 2014, she won an Emmy for the team's T-shirt project. She followed the start of the t-shirt's journey, from cotton farms in Mississippi to factories in Indonesia. But her biggest prize has been getting to drive a forklift, back hoe, and a 35-ton digger for a story. Jess got her start in public radio at Studio 360—though, if you search hard enough, you can uncover a podcast she made back in college.
See stories by Jess Jiang
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