IRS Lays Off Roughly 6,000 Employees as Trump Downsizes Government

What Happened?

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service informed its staffers Thursday that roughly 6,000 employees would be laid off as part of moves to eliminate nearly 6% of its workforce.

President Donald Trump has targeted these actions behind his federal downsizing efforts with the help of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) during the critical tax-filing season.

According to reports, IRS director Christy Armstrong of talent acquisition announced the layoffs during an emotional phone call with employees.

The layoffs are expected to impact as many as 6,700 IRS workers hired as part of an expansion under former President Joe Biden, according to Reuters.

Roughly 100,000 people, up from 80,000 when he took office, are reportedly employed by the agency.

The move could help address the nation's trillion-dollar debt deficit and boost government revenue.

But it comes during a time when the IRS expects over 140 million individual tax returns by an April deadline across all 50 states.

Some Republican leaders believed the expansion would have led to more harassment however of ordinary American taxpayers.

Why it Matters

A U.S. District Judge recently refused to immediately block DOGE from participating in worker layoffs and accessing systems such as the IRS' Integrated Data Retrieval System.

This decision came after 14 Democratic-led states filed a lawsuit challenging DOGE’s authority to access such data and concerns surrounding billionaire Elon Musk's role within the agency.

The growing concern is that DOGE would have access to millions of these tightly controlled files that include bank records.

DOGE and the Trump administration have set the goal of cutting at least $1 trillion from the $6.7 trillion federal budget.

Trump has reportedly said he will not touch popular benefit programs that make up roughly one-third of the total budget.

So far, DOGE estimates it has saved $55 billion in federal spending, according to its website.

Around 10% of NASA's 18,000 member workforce has reportedly been slashed with future cuts planned.

As many as 200,000 federal employees are set to be affected after the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) instructed workplace leaders to proceed with the termination of thousands of probationary workers.

Federal departments will have limited power to hire more staff without DOGE being coordinated as part of Trump's executive order.

Democratic critics like John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) have all criticized Musk and Trump for allegedly exceeding constitutional authority.

How it Affects You

Many have spoken out against these cuts amid the possibility that the country's ability to handle various crises is undermined due to staffing.

Constitutional conflict may result in the Supreme Court getting involved to issue opinions.

Can the president spend less money than Congress wants?

It may all come down to something called 'impoundment' and the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, according to NPR.

An act that controls when and how a president can take away money Congress has appropriated.

There are key funding measures ahead that will require tough votes in support of the president and to address goals to avert a government shutdown.