Elon Musk celebrates 9% cut in federal workers: ‘matrix was reprogrammed’

“The matrix was reprogrammed,” the former head of Government Efficiency posted on X, pointing to a chart produced by Cato Institute economist Krit Chanwong and policy VP Alex Nowrasteh.

In a recent blog post, the libertarian think‑tank noted that “a decline that large has not happened since the military demobilizations at the end of World War II and the Korean War.”

Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, maintained by the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank, show that federal employment fell to 2.744 million by November, down from 3.015 million the month Musk kicked off his DOGE campaign during the Trump administration.

About 271 000 people left federal jobs—a mix of buyouts for roughly 154 000 staff and mass terminations that hit agencies, including the former USAID, which once employed 10 000 workers.

Federal employment dipped similarly during 2014 under Barack Obama and throughout much of 2003‑2007 under George W. Bush.

Since 1966, a civilian workforce of below 2.7 million has never been seen, even though the country’s population was 42 % smaller then. This suggests that further cuts could drive 2026 numbers to new lows.

Although Musk has re‑engaged with Trump after their June fallout, the Cato scholars highlighted that DOGE did not lower federal spending. In fact, analysis of Treasury monthly reports shows that expenditures rose each month of Trump’s first year back, exceeding the levels seen under Joe Biden.

According to the report, U.S. government spending reached $7.6 trillion in 2025 as of November—surpassing the $7.412 trillion spent by Biden in the same period in 2024, and exceeding the totals for 2023 ($6.5 trillion), 2022 ($6.27 trillion) and 2021 ($6.5 trillion).

A notable factor behind the higher outlay is the rise in interest payments on the national debt, driven by elevated rates in 2022 amid rampant inflation. Those rates have since eased, but a new Federal Reserve chair expected to be appointed by Trump in May could further lower them, saving the government billions since 17 % of spending goes to debt service.

“An observer who did not know when DOGE started could not identify it in [monthly spending charts],” the Cato experts wrote in a report.

They argued that “DOGE failed to cut spending because most federal spending was for entitlement programs where spending remains high due to structural reasons and policy autopilot.” The experts added, “Congress alone has the authority to cut these programs, so it’s unsurprising that DOGE did not reduce spending.”

The study also observed that “any changes in spending during DOGE’s tenure compared to the CBO projection coincided with a rescission bill,” detailing Trump’s July cut of $9 billion from foreign aid, NPR and PBS. In September, he removed another $5 billion for foreign aid through an uncommon “pocket rescission” that went around Congress, as first reported by The Post.