US President Donald Trump says millions have been cut from federal payroll

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday (January 20) that his administration has slashed ”tremendous” numbers from the federal payroll, adding that millions of federal workers were terminated by it.

The president was appearing at Tuesday’s White House press briefing to mark the first anniversary of the start of his second term.

Scott Kupor, director of the US Office of Personnel Management, said last September that there would be roughly 300,000 fewer federal workers on the payroll nationwide by the end of 2025.

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The government employs roughly 2.5 million workers, including military members. Trump said the fired workers are “getting much better jobs and much higher pay”.

From the start of Trump’s second term one year ago, the Department of Government Efficiency, led by his then-advisor Elon Musk, instigated purges of federal agencies with the expressed mission of rooting out fraud, waste and abuse.

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