Departments and agencies across the federal government are scrambling to fill crucial roles left vacant over the Department of Government Efficiency’s mass firings and deferred resignation offers.
For months, DOGE has demanded departments and agencies dramatically downsize as part of efforts to cut government spending. Some employees have been incentivized to leave with early retirement offers or buyouts. Others, such as probationary employees, have been dismissed.
But now, those same departments and agencies have been left understaffed and are struggling to get workers back.
Between experienced employees who took early retirement offers, those who found jobs in the private sector, and those uninterested in returning to a chaotic environment, the government is having trouble filling roles.
The Food and Drug Administration, which has let go of at least 3,500 employees since April, rescinded the reduction-in-force notification three weeks after initially sending it.
One FDA employee told the Washington Post they only agreed to return because they hadn’t found a new job yet.
“Being back feels like a funeral,” the employee said. “Morale is terrible. Everyone is stressed and feels the absence of our colleagues.”
The employee said they plan to find a new job.
The FDA also appears to be hiring at least 17 new permanent roles, according to USAJobs. Postings show multiple openings for investigators, physicians, and regulatory specialists.
Within the FDA, the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research has sent desperate emails asking for “timekeeper” volunteers – people who handle necessary administrative tasks such as pay, leave, and travel.
The chaotic firings and rehiring are occurring in agencies across the government.
IRS probationary workers who were fired for “performance” related reasons were told to show up to the office in May, according to The Washington Post.
In February, the National Nuclear Safety Administration had to recall termination emails sent to at least 50 employees overseeing the nation’s nuclear stockpile.
The swath of USAID employees who were among the first to be targeted by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s workforce cuts have recently been offered roles within the State Department.
At the Community Planning and Development agency, within the Department of Housing and Urban Development, at least 370 employees, or 40 percent of staff, have left since the start of Trump’s term, a staffer told the Washington Post.
Some field offices have been left so understaffed, HUD offered reassignment offers to remaining employees.
Despite some lawmakers’ warning, the administration made cuts to the National Weather Service that left a field office in Kentucky short-staffed amid severe weather that included deadly tornadoes. While the office managed to keep up with scheduling changes, the NWS was recently permitted a workaround to the federal hiring freeze and can now hire more staff.