What federal department employs the most workers?

Starters
Written By Jonathan Milner

Critical Analysis

Find answers to the following questions using the visual above, any links below, your big brain, and your knowledge of American government and politics:

  1. The federal government's Office of Personnel Management tracks the number of people who work for the government. Based on the visual above, as of 2024 what federal department employed the most workers?

  2. According the visual above, about what percent of the federal workforce is defense related?

  3. In November 2024, the federal government employed just over 3 million people, or 1.87% of the entire civilian workforce, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. That figure doesn’t count the roughly 1.3 million active-duty military personnel, who aren’t typically considered “employees.” It does include the more than 600,000 people who work for the U.S. Postal Service, an independent federal agency with semiautonomous status that operates somewhat like a private business. If you included the USPS in the data above, how would it rank in terms of size of employees?

  4. Set aside the Postal Service and you have a bit more than 2.4 million federal workers. That makes the federal government the nation’s single largest employer, with even more workers than Walmart, Amazon or McDonald’s. How surprised are you by this data?

  5. The Department of Veterans Affairs employs more than 486,000 people, giving it by far the largest payroll of the 18 Cabinet-level departments (noting that Office of Personnel Management counts the Army, Navy and Air Force departments separately). Most of these employees work for the Veterans Health Administration, which operates the VA’s extensive network of hospitals, clinics and nursing homes. The smallest Cabinet-level department, with 4,245 workers, is the Department of Education. Trump, like many previous Republican presidents, has proposed abolishing the department entirely. Explain whether the U.S. should shuttering the department of education?

  6. President-elect Donald Trump has focused much attention on shrinking the size and scope of the federal government for his second administration. Most notably, Trump has appointed tech mogul Elon Musk and GOP-primary-rival-turned-ally Vivek Ramaswamy to lead an advisory task force dubbed DOGE or “Department of Government Efficiency.” Musk and Ramaswamy have said they aim to cut trillions of dollars from the federal budget, abolish or consolidate hundreds of federal agencies, and slash the federal payroll by as much as 75%. What do you think would happen if our federal workforce was actually cut by 75%?

  7. President Trump and Congressional Republicans have made it clear that they want to cut the federal workforce. Describe one positive and one negative consequence of cuts to the federal workforce then make a claim about what percent the U.S. should trim its work force.

  8. President Trump signed an executive action last Monday directing federal agencies to order their workers back to the office full time. "Heads of all departments and agencies in the executive branch of Government shall, as soon as practicable, take all necessary steps to terminate remote work arrangements and require employees to return to work in-person at their respective duty stations on a full-time basis, provided that the department and agency heads shall make exemptions they deem necessary," the executive memo states. The President is the Commander in chief as well as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). What other branch of the federal government shares oversight of the federal workforce?

  9. All of the federal agencies and departments listed in the visual above have an inspector general. According to the Inspector General Act of 1978, the Inspector General's mission is to:

    • Conduct independent and objective audits, investigations and inspections within the department or agency

    • Prevent and detect waste, fraud and abuse,

    • Promote economy, effectiveness and efficiency,

    • Review pending legislation and regulation, and

    • Keep the agency head and Congress fully and currently informed.

    President Trump fired at least 12 inspectors general late on Friday night, capping a week of dramatic shake-ups of the federal government with a purge of independent watchdog officials created by Congress to root out abuse and illegality within federal agencies. How does the firing of the 12 inspectors general illustrate the concept of checks and balances?

  10. The firings appeared to violate a law that requires presidents to give Congress 30 days’ advance notice before removing any inspector general, along with reasons for the firing. Just two years ago, Congress strengthened that provision by requiring the notice to include a “substantive rationale, including detailed and case-specific reasons” for the removal. Describe what the Congress can do to reinstate inspectors general?

Write and Discuss

Take ten minutes to write about the question at the top of the page and then discuss with your classmates.

Act on your Learning

Contact your members of congress and tell them what you think about the firing of 12 Inspectors general.

Get Creative

Imagine the United States with 1/4 the size government workforce that it has now. Write a 200 word story about how this would impact your life.

Learning Extension*

Check out all the USA Facts charts and visuals about American government workers.

 
 

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Jonathan Milner

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