Trump's largest employee purge revealed as 70,000 jobs on chopping block in 'aggressive' reshuffle at federal agency

President Donald Trump is planning his biggest cuts to the federal work force yet as his administration plans to fire more than 70,000 employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The VA's chief of staff Christopher Syrek wrote, in a memo obtained by CNN, that the department was working with Elon Musk's DOGE agency to restructure the VA and 'resize' the workforce.

That plan includes reverting the department back to its 2019-era staffing levels of 399,957 employees, meaning around 76,000 workers would have to be terminated among the 470,000 staff.

The VA, which handles the care of the nation's veterans, is one of the biggest federal departments. It has the second largest federal workforce after the Department of Defense.

Trump and Musk have been on a mission to remake the federal government, which includes cutting the size of its workforce, cutting costs, and closing federal agencies.

For example, almost 10,000 people were terminated when the USAID was shuttered. 

'We're cutting down the size of government. We have to,' Trump said during the first Cabinet meeting of his second term.

'We're bloated. We're sloppy. We have a lot of people that aren't doing their job.' 

Federal workers were originally offered a buyout to quit their jobs. About 75,000 people - or 3% of the federal workforce - took that offer.

The first phase of Trump's layoffs targeted probationary employees – those within a year or two of their hire date although the Office of Personnel Management revised their guidance to say that terminations were now at the discretion of the agencies.

Trump initiated a second phase of firings last week with a memo asking for 'large-scale reductions in force' at agencies across the government. That wave of firings will not be limited to probationary staff.

The VA grew in staff during Joe Biden's presidency, particularly after he signed legislation improving veterans' healthcare benefits, including those exposed to toxins and hazards like burn pits while serving. 

 It's unclear how veterans will be impacted by the firings.

The VA has to report back on the potential firings to OPM by by April 14. More than 2,400 workers have already been laid off from the agency as part of earlier cuts.

VA Secretary Doug Collins said none of those laid off were 'mission-critical.'

Other agencies are in the process of drawing up plans to lay off staff. 

The Trump administration sent out a memo in early February asking agencies to develop a report by March 13 on its reduction in force plans.

The IRS is working to cut its workforce by as much as half through a mix of layoffs, attrition and incentivized buyouts, the AP reported.

The federal tax collector employs roughly 90,000 workers and it's tax season. Returns are due by April 15th. 

Democrats argue Trump and Musk cannot make such decisions without approval from Congress but they are largely powerless to stop them. 

Lawsuits have been filed. 

Some employees have been reinstated. 

The Merit Systems Protection Board - an independent board that considers federal employees' complaints against the government - ordered the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to temporarily reinstate close to 6,000 employees fired since Feb. 13.

It found reasonable grounds to believe the agency acted illegally in terminating them.

Musk, as the leader of Trump's Department of Government Efficiency has already cut federal agencies, fired staff, and slashed federal spending. 

The Trump administration has ended diversity hiring, froze federal contracts and declared there are only two genders. 

Since Trump took office on January 20th, more than 200,000 federal workers at more than a dozen agencies have had their roles eliminated.