Trump's week in review: From gutting the federal workforce to meeting with foreign leaders

6. Federal agencies fire thousands of employees 

In a statement published Thursday, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced that it was dismissing more than 1,000 employees. Employees affected included “non-bargaining unit probationary employees who have served less than a year in a competitive service appointment or who have served less than two years in an excepted service appointment.”

While there are 43,000 probationary employees at the department, most of them were exempt from dismissal because they serve in “mission-critical positions” or are “covered under a collective bargaining agreement.” The VA said, “the dismissals announced today are part of a government-wide Trump Administration effort to make agencies more efficient, effective and responsive to the American People.” 

The mass dismissal of employees at the VA comes after Trump issued an executive order Tuesday instructing the heads of federal agencies to “initiate large-scale reductions in force.” The American Federation of Government Employees, a union that represents federal workers, released a statement condemning the mass firings as part of a “long line of attacks on the federal workforce” that “will only harm the American people.” 

NBC News has reported that leaders of the Office of Personnel Management told the heads of executive agencies to fire probationary employees earlier this week, referring to government employees with less than two years of experience. Other expected cuts identified by the news network include dozens of probationary employees at the U.S. Department of Education and at least 3,400 employees at the U.S. Forest Service.