Tags

federal dismantlement

The systematic destruction of federal agencies and programs, including mass layoffs, budget elimination, and institutional capture. Covers the deliberate hollowing-out of regulatory, scientific, and social service functions of the U.S. government.

Related incidents

11 incidents

DOGE Gutted State Department Energy Bureau Months Before Iran War

DOGE's elimination of the State Department's energy diplomacy bureau months before the Iran war left the U.S. without key personnel who monitored energy chokepoints, oil markets, and Iranian energy …

  • DOGE eliminated the Bureau of Energy Resources, an 80-person State Department team responsible for leading international energy diplomacy …
  • The bureau was gutted approximately six months before the February 2026 U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran — a war that has centered on energy …

DOGE Guts National Weather Service: 30 Offices Lose Lead Meteorologists Ahead of Hurricane Season

DOGE fired over 600 National Weather Service employees including hurricane hunters, meteorologists, and storm modelers, leaving 30 forecast offices without lead meteorologists. The NWS Goodland, …

  • On February 27, 2025, the Commerce Department and NOAA fired more than 600 probationary employees at the National Weather Service, including …
  • By May 2025, 30 of the NWS's 122 forecast offices lacked a lead meteorologist. Goodland, Kansas — normally staffed with 13 meteorologists — …

DOGE Fires 350 Nuclear Weapons Workers at NNSA, Including Pantex Warhead Assemblers

DOGE fired 350 NNSA nuclear weapons workers, including warhead assemblers at Pantex and radioactive waste managers at Savannah River, as part of a 2,000-person Department of Energy purge. Most firings …

  • On February 13, 2025, approximately 350 NNSA employees were abruptly terminated as part of a DOGE purge across the Department of Energy …
  • The Pantex Plant near Amarillo, Texas — where nuclear warheads are assembled and disassembled — absorbed about 30% of the cuts. Fired …

DOGE Shuts Down Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: 'CFPB RIP'

DOGE operationally shut down the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — a Congressionally-created agency protecting 330 million Americans from financial fraud — by ordering staff to cease all work, …

  • On February 8, 2025, CFPB Acting Director Russell Vought ordered all staff and contractors to 'not perform any work tasks,' effectively …
  • DOGE deleted the CFPB's X (Twitter) account and gained administrative access to the agency's internal computer systems, content management …

HHS Dismantlement Under RFK Jr. Fuels Worst Measles Outbreak in 30 Years

RFK Jr.'s dismantlement of federal health agencies during an active measles crisis — including firing vaccine advisors, cutting thousands of positions, and clawing back billions — has resulted in the …

  • RFK Jr. ordered approximately 10,000 HHS layoffs in March 2025, on top of 10,000 voluntary departures, shrinking the workforce by roughly …
  • Over $12 billion in COVID-era public health infrastructure grants were clawed back — funding that had been supporting measles surveillance, …

Education Department Dismantlement: $881M in Contracts Slashed, IES Eliminated, 50% Workforce Cut

The systematic dismantlement of the Department of Education began with DOGE slashing $881 million in research contracts and eliminating IES, followed by cutting half the workforce, and culminated in …

  • On February 10, 2025, DOGE announced termination of 89 Education Department contracts totaling $881 million. The vast majority targeted the …
  • IES was effectively eliminated — over 100 employees terminated, including research analysts specializing in K-12 studies, adult education, …

FDA Food Safety Collapse: 3,500+ Staff Cut and Outbreak Investigation Capacity Gutted

Mass layoffs at the FDA driven by the Department of Government Efficiency eliminated over 3,500 staff in 2025, causing foreign food safety inspections to drop by nearly half, outbreak investigations …

  • The FDA lost 3,859 employees in 2025 and 473 more in early 2026, driven by DOGE-mandated layoffs that included 70 outbreak investigators and …
  • Foreign food safety inspections fell by nearly half in March 2025 and remained approximately 30% lower through July compared to previous …

OSHA Workplace Safety Dismantlement: 60+ Rules Rolled Back and 223 Inspectors Eliminated

A systematic dismantlement of OSHA's regulatory and enforcement capacity through mass deregulation, inspector cuts, and penalty reductions that experts warn will lead to preventable worker deaths …

  • OSHA proposed eliminating or revising over 60 workplace safety regulations on July 1, 2025, targeting respiratory protection, construction …
  • The FY2026 budget proposes cutting OSHA funding from $632.3 million to $582.4 million and eliminating 223 inspector positions, reducing the …

FEMA Dismantlement — Budget Cuts, Mass Layoffs, and Destruction of Disaster Response Capacity

A systematic effort to dismantle federal disaster preparedness and response capacity through budget cuts, mass layoffs, program terminations, and structural reorganization. FEMA's workforce has …

  • FEMA's workforce shrank from approximately 29,000 to 23,000 in 2025 — a loss of one-third of its staff since Trump's second term began.
  • The proposed FY2026 budget cuts FEMA by $646 million. Plans call for a 50% total workforce reduction, a 41% disaster response staff cut, and …

US Withdrawal from the World Health Organization — Dismantling Global Pandemic Preparedness

The US withdrew from the WHO effective January 2026, removing the organization's largest funder and dismantling pandemic preparedness infrastructure. The WHO announced plans to cut 2,300 jobs — 25% of …

  • Trump signed Executive Order 14155 on January 20, 2025, initiating US withdrawal from the WHO. The withdrawal became effective on January …
  • The US was the WHO's largest single funder, responsible for 22% of mandatory contributions during 2024-2025. The WHO's most recent two-year …

Mass Firing of Inspectors General Across Federal Government

Trump fired at least 17 inspectors general across the federal government without the advance notice to Congress that the Inspector General Act generally requires, and a later federal ruling said the …

  • At least 17 inspectors general were removed in a single sweep across multiple agencies.
  • The Inspector General Act generally requires notice to Congress before removal.