Federal workers join a union organized lunch time picket line outside the 26 Federal Plaza office building to protest Elon Musk and his efforts to fire many of them, February 27, 2025, in New York City. Congress established the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service as part of the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act. Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images
Another agency nearly eliminates staff as Trump continues down warpath against small federal offices
Small, independent agencies are making good on Trump’s order to slash their functions and workforces.
A federal office that helps resolve labor disputes—including those in the federal sector—on Wednesday became the latest independent agency the Trump administration has moved to shutter in recent days following the president’s order that they close.
The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service notified most of its staff they were being placed on administrative leave with the expectation they would soon be subject to reductions in force, or layoffs. The agency had around 200 employees before the Trump administration, but had already lost a significant portion of its workforce due to the deferred resignation program and other attrition. It will maintain just 15 employees going forward—a few core staff and mediators in its Washington headquarters—according to an employee briefed on the plans.
FMCS decided to mostly cease operations following President Trump’s executive order earlier this month that called for it and six other agencies to "reduce the performance of their statutory functions and associated personnel to the minimum presence and function required by law.” Congress established FMCS as part of the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act, meaning Trump could not eradicate it entirely.
Employees were notified on Wednesday morning they would be placed on administrative leave at the close of the business day. Some staff were in the middle of bargaining sessions between management and labor groups that they had to leave to attend a Zoom meeting notifying them of their forthcoming dismissals. All of their work will cease immediately, employees told Government Executive. A message to an agency spokesperson returned an automated out of office response.
“I am no longer with FMCS due to the recent Reduction in Force (RIF) plan,” the response read. “Working at FMCS has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career, and I am deeply saddened to witness such drastic and short-sighted measures taken against a Congressionally-established agency that has played such a critical role in serving our nation and taxpayers since 1947.”
Employees noted that with the agency’s budget of just $55 million, they helped avoid work stoppages and disputes that saved the U.S. economy more than $500 million annually.
Labor experts ranging from former coal miners to employer attorneys were “committed to serving the public at a fraction of what it costs to hire a private mediator,” one impacted employee said. “It's sad that this service to our country is going to be lost.”
Trump’s order also called for the elimination of non-statutorily mandated parts of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which has led to the slashing of staff at Voice of America and other government-owned outlets. A federal judge this week paused the administration’s efforts to eliminate Radio Free Europe.
Last week, also as part of Trump’s order, the Institute of Museum and Library Service indicated to employees it would place nearly all of its roughly 70 employees on administrative leave as it looks to eliminate the agency. The move has yet to occur, however. IMLS provides grants to museums and libraries and funds job training, digital literacy and programs for children, veterans and rural areas. Congress approved nearly $300 million in funding for the agency in fiscal 2024.
In a bipartisan letter to acting IMLS Director Keith Sonderiling and Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought on Wednesday, Sens. Jack Reed, D-R.I., Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., Susan Collins, R-Maine and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, demanded that the agency continue to obligate the money Congress has appropriated.
“We look forward to working with you to support IMLS in fulfilling its purpose and meeting all of its statutory requirements,” the senators said after emphasizing the important economic and cultural roles that libraries and museums play.
Trump’s order also called for the elimination of the Minority Business Development Agency, an agency housed within the Commerce Department. Commerce was preparing last week to issue RIF notices to employees of MBDA—which helps minority-owned businesses find access to capital, contracts and markets—according to a source familiar with the plans.
The order also called for the elimination of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in the Smithsonian Institution, the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness and the Treasury Department's Community Development Financial Institutions Fund. A spokesman for the Wilson Center declined to comment, while the other agencies did not respond to inquiries into their plans.
Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, spearheaded a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that included a dozen additional Democrats and nine additional Republicans calling on the Trump administration not to eliminate the CDFI Fund. The Treasury agency helps provide organization and seed funding to financial institutions and other entities that offer capital investment opportunities in underserved communities.
“A reduction in the functions and operations of the CDFI Fund will have a corresponding impact on CDFI-certified entities and local communities and we urge you to avoid this unfortunate outcome,” the senators said.
Trump has called on all federal agencies to implement widespread RIFs, though some are hoping to avoid them by using incentives and attrition to downsize their workforces. Several agencies have already begun laying off employees en masse, though the vast majority of large agencies—the Education Department and General Services Administration notwithstanding—have not yet done so on a significant scale.