See where and how Biden grew the federal workforce

President Biden has overseen a nearly 6% growth of the permanent federal workforce during his four years in office, including a jump at nearly every major agency. 

The trend marks a reversal from his predecessor and successor, President-elect Trump, who helped shed workers at nearly every federal agency. It also signifies that Biden delivered on a campaign promise to restore the civil service he said had been “hollowed out” by Trump. Biden called a “strong, healthy” civil service “essential to the success” of his administration.

Trump came into his first term of office much like he is entering his second: by promising to slash agency rolls. Upon his first inauguration, he immediately instituted a governmentwide hiring freeze and instructed every agency to develop plans to shrink their staffing levels. After four years, however, he saw the number of federal employees grow by 2%. That figure is a bit misleading, as gains at three departments—Homeland Security, Veterans Affairs and Defense—hid losses at every other department and virtually every major agency.

Quickly after his election, Jen Psaki, then a transition advisor, said career civil servants were “the heart and soul of government” and it was a priority for Biden to rebuild federal agencies that “wouldn't function without the thousands of people who have served for decades.” 

Biden helped usher into law several key pieces of legislation that built out agency workforces, such as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the CHIPS and Science Act, the PACT Act and the Inflation Reduction Act. It has also taken executive action to improve hiring processes, which has supported funding increases agencies have enjoyed for most of his presidency.

At a recent White House event, acting Office of Personnel Management Director Rob Shriver boasted of the administration's growth of skills-based hiring, the increased use of shared job postings for multiple agencies, surge hiring efforts for specific laws and a boosted use of AI in recruiting and onboarding. 

Trump is now promising to reverse much of that growth, calling for diminished agency spending, easier firing of federal workers, incentivized attrition and, perhaps, widespread layoffs. Businessmen and Trump confidantes Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, through their government efficiency commission, as well as Office of Management and Budget Director-designate Russ Vought, are expected to spearhead those efforts. Key lawmakers have already expressed support for that push.  

Under Biden, the cabinet agencies that grew the most were the departments of State, Health and Human Services, Veterans Affairs, Treasury and Energy. Only the departments of Defense and Commerce saw their workforces shrink. 

Biden prioritized growing the workforce at State, visiting its headquarters just weeks into his term to tell employees there they were “at the center of all that I intend to do.” State Secretary Antony Blinken created new bureaus focused on cybersecurity and digital diplomacy, won direct hire authority for critical positions and expanded recruitment and retention efforts across the department, all of which led to a nearly unprecedented hiring surge. 

HHS’ hiring centered on agencies that faced criticism under Trump as it responded to the COVID-19 pandemic: the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health. Those agencies saw their workforces grow by 13%, 26% and 34%, respectively, under Biden. 

VA went on a record-setting hiring surge after the passage of the PACT Act, which opened up the department’s services to millions of additional veterans. The department was one of the few that grew under Trump and has added 100,000 employees over the last decade. VA, like several agencies across government, is now taking steps to pause or restrict hiring as a result of a tightened budget environment. Some agencies suggested they would have to implement hiring freezes as Congress has dragged its feet on passing full-year appropriations. 

The hiring at Treasury virtually all stems from the Internal Revenue Service surging its workforce with funds from the Inflation Reduction Act. Republicans have vowed to rescind that money and Trump has already announced his intent to replace current Commissioner Danny Werfel, who still has multiple years left on his term. Werfel has warned IRS will have to freeze hiring and lay employees off if it does not continue receiving boosted funds. 

The Small Business Administration saw the most significant losses of any large agency with at least 1,000 employees, though that was likely due to a temporary hiring surge that took place during the COVID-19 pandemic. While the figures reported here are for permanent, non-seasonal employees, the change at the Commerce Department similarly likely stems from fluctuations related to the decennial census. 

The U.S. Agency for International Development saw the largest workforce spike, benefiting from the record-setting Foreign Service classes that also helped State grow. USAID’s workforce shrank by about 8% under Trump, similar to the rate experienced by the Environmental Protection Agency. Under Biden, EPA grew its ranks by 10%.  

In Trump’s first term, EPA offered buyout and early retirement incentives to push employees out the door. Musk and Ramaswamy suggested the new Trump administration will pursue such an approach on a more widespread basis the second time around. The president-elect and his advisors have suggested relocating agencies and slashing telework availability will also lead to greater attrition in the federal workforce.