U.S. government civil servants are low-visibility professionals typically shielded from political pressure. They devote careers, sometimes most of their working lives, to federal law enforcement, diplomacy, health care, education, scientific research, weather forecasting, national parks, air traffic control, budget administration, purchasing, real estate, foreign aid, space exploration and much more. Now, in the first month of Donald Trump's second term as president, many feel they could be forced out in a cost-slashing frenzy that may bring mass layoffs.

The first intended victims are at the Agency for International Development, where nearly all employees face being put on indefinite administrative leave and all independent workers will have their contracts ended -- though a judge Friday blocked the forced leaves of absence for now. "A lot of us are scared and feel betrayed," an unnamed worker at the foreign aid agency is quoted as saying. More broadly, a "buyout deal" to leave by Sept. 30, when the 2024-25 budget year ends, is offered to almost every civil servant -- regardless of expertise, experience or how long they've been on the payroll. About 40,000 agreed to quit, a decision others have until this week to make. An Office of Personnel Management spokesperson calls the offer "a rare, generous opportunity," but legal challenges are filed by unions because Congress – not the president – controls the budget. (The Republican president, who was in the White House from 2017-21, was re-elected in November and began his new term three weeks ago.)

Separately, senior FBI agents and more than two dozen prosecutors have been fired. Lawyers have filed two cases designed to prevent the FBI from firing agents who worked on 2021 Capitol riot cases. Civil Service protections covering more than two-thirds of all federal workers prevent arbitrary or political firings withpout cause.

At the same time, Trump's Department of Government Efficiency – led by billionaire Elon Musk, who gave $277 million to his 2024 campaign – is making life difficult for civilian workers in an effort to get more to leave. Musk's team has shut access to personal records and federal email. Payments on approved work are frozen and they're blocking projects the new administration dislikes. "The prospect of mass federal layoffs . . . has introduced an altogether novel element to a city built on government stability: economic paranoia," writes Michael Schaffer, a senior editor and columnist at Politico Magazine. Another publication, The Verge, quotes an unnamed civil servant: "Nobody knows if they'll have a job tomorrow, especially if your agency works on something that the Trump administration seems to be targeting."

Workforce size: The U.S. government had over 2 million full-time, permanent civilian employees in 2023. It's the country's largest employer.

Civil servant says: "This isn't the job I loved and wanted. This is like some evil demon took it over." – U.S. Labor Department staffer, quoted anonymously

Columnist says: "No one has the authority to summarily dismiss civil servants without cause." – Jamelle Bouie, The New York Times