Why Attacks on Federal Employees Are Used To Harm Black Workers

In the 2024 presidential race, Russell Vought, the current director of the Office of Management and Budget, stated his desire to place federal employees “in trauma.” Project 2025 labeled union representation as “incompatible with democracy” and proposed that Congress render the right to a voice in federal jobs illegal.Now, as president, Trump has undertook significant actions to actualize the Project 2025 vision. Alongside appointing Vought, he granted Elon Musk—then the world's richest individual—unrestricted access to federal data while his inexperienced team drastically cut core government functions and the workers who supported them.Nine months into Trump's second term, around 300,000 federal employees—1 in 8—have been dismissed, marking the largest workforce reduction since World War II. In March, the administration eliminated collective bargaining rights for nearly 1 million federal workers. This series of assaults endangers vital services we depend on daily. For Black Americans, Trump's actions threaten to undo decades of progress made toward equality in federal employment.