Trump administration’s reduction of federal workforce could hit hard in South Sound
The Trump administration’s current push to shave as many jobs as possible from the federal workforce could have outsized consequences for our own regional economy.
The federal workforce has a significant presence not just in Pierce County but the region, with more than 41,000 civilian workers employed by the U.S. government within two local congressional districts.
According to previous reporting by McClatchy, there were more than 56,000 federal civilian workers in Washington state as of December. That figure does not include federal contractors or uniformed military personnel, including those who work at Joint Base Lewis-McChord or Naval Base Kitsap.
Washington’s Sixth Congressional District alone, which spans most of Tacoma and the Olympic and Kitsap peninsulas, includes more than 27,000 federal civil employees, consisting of roughly 7.7% of all civilian employees living in the district.
That number also has been cited by U.S. Rep. Emily Randall, a Democrat representing the 6th District, including during a recent appearance at the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber’s annual Horizons Economic Forecast breakfast.
Randall has been actively speaking out against reductions to the federal workforce stemming from an emailed proposal to workers in late January calling for voluntary deferred resignations.
On Feb. 3, Randall was among other Democrats on the House Oversight Committee calling on the Trump administration to rescind the “sham offer,” stating it would “decimate our civil service and cause immeasurable harm to the American public.”
“I am committed to doing everything in my power to work with my colleagues to hold this rogue administration accountable – and I hope our Republican colleagues find the courage to do the same,” Randall said in a statement Feb. 7.
Randall has also cited that her district includes more than 73,000 veterans, and hundreds of constituents have reached out concerned about government programs “that families, children, seniors, and veterans rely on,” she stated.
According to a Congressional Research Service report from December, more than 14,000 federal civil workers live in the state’s 10th District, which includes Pierce County. That represents about 3.8% of all civilian employees living in the district.
The two districts, combined, cover Pierce and Thurston counties and territory stretching to the most northwestern end of the state. They rank first and second, respectively, among 10 Congressional Districts in Washington for the estimated number of federal government civilian employees residing in them.
How many will be left employed after an aggressive federal budget overhaul is still to be determined, depending on how many locally take the offer.
‘Fork in the road’
With few exceptions, federal workers in late January received the now-infamous “Fork in the Road” email from the Office of Personnel Management. The email called for voluntary deferred resignations from federal workers, with an original deadline of Feb. 6 to accept and stay on through September.
Those exempted from the offer included immigration and law enforcement officials, national security workers and postal workers.
A U.S. District judge on Feb. 12 allowed the program to proceed but did not address whether the plan is legal.
The deadline was pushed to 7:20 p.m. Eastern time Feb. 12. OPM estimates about 75,000 nationwide have taken the offer.
The Washington Post reported on Feb. 13 that agency heads have been told to fire probationary staff, which could include thousands more workers.
On Feb. 13, Washington state joined a multistate lawsuit against Elon Musk, the Department of Government Efficiency and President Donald Trump over violations of the Appointments Clause of the U.S. Constitution ”by creating a new federal department without congressional approval, and by granting Musk sweeping powers over the entire federal government without the advice and consent of the Senate or accountability to the people of the United States,” according to a news release accompanying the filing.
Musk and the newly created DOGE have been at the center of the current upheaval and cuts made so far, such as eliminating the U.S. Agency for International Development and moving to essentially dismantle other entities such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Department of Education.
“Elon Musk has amassed — or simply taken for himself — unaccountable power to walk into any federal agency, fire people, eliminate programs authorized by Congress, and access confidential personal and national security information without regard for the consequences,” Washington state Attorney General Nick Brown said Feb. 13.
Beyond the states’ lawsuit, multiple other lawsuits have also been filed over Musk and DOGE’s activity.
The White House has repeatedly defended the DOGE team’s work and contends Musk is acting in compliance with federal law. Trump told reporters earlier this month that Musk had to seek White House approval for his actions.
GSA and EPA
In Tacoma and Pierce County, one agency made headlines a few years ago for moving its regional headquarters here, while another agency has a widespread presence locally through its environmental work.
As of 2022, General Services Administration had relocated to Tacoma offices leased at the Columbia Bank Center, 1301 A St., The move was the result of the relocation of its Region 10 headquarters, which previously had an office campus in Auburn.
Its workforce at that time was estimated at around 300. The office serves Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.
At the time, GSA Region 10 media representative Christi Chidester Votisek told The News Tribune, “Depending on the specific job series, a large number of GSA employees who formerly reported to work in Auburn now work 100% from home. Many others work in a hybrid environment, working from home some days and reporting to the new offices in Tacoma others. Only a small number of employees work in the Tacoma offices daily.”
On Feb. 13, she told The News Tribune in a brief phone message left in response to questions that she had no new information to share regarding GSA’s presence in Tacoma.
Federal employees received a mandated order of return to work at the office five days a week via a memorandum signed by Trump on his first day in office.
Several agencies, including GSA, have started rescinding remote and telework policies.
“Routine telework and full-time telework can only be approved in limited circumstances outlined in this policy,” wrote Acting Administrator Stephen Ehikian in a more-than-20-page directive sent Feb. 12.
U.S. Senator Patty Murray of Washington state held a virtual news conference Feb. 11 focused on federal workers.
Helen Bottcher, who retired from the EPA in 2023, said at Murray’s news conference that she had “spoken with or heard about employees who are having panic attacks that landed them in the ER, who can’t sleep, and who have become physically ill because of the stress.”
She added, “The purge has begun at EPA. Last Thursday, nine employees from EPA’s regional office (in Seattle) were placed on administrative leave, suddenly and with virtually no warning. They were targeted because they were identified as working on Environmental Justice issues.”
While not specifying locations, EPA administrator Lee Zeldin confirmed the action, and said in a statement Feb. 11, “The previous administration used DEI and Environmental Justice to advance ideological priorities, distributing billions of dollars to organizations in the name of climate equity. This ends now.”
Zeldin added that “We will be good stewards of tax dollars and do everything in our power to deliver clean air, land, and water to every American, regardless of race, religion, background and creed.”
The EPA is involved in Superfund oversight. Locally, that includes the Commencement Bay, Near Shore/Tideflats site that includes Point Ruston and, along with the U.S. Department of Justice, has had staff assigned to oversight/litigation.
There’s also what’s known as the South Tacoma Field, which is tied to ongoing redevelopment for a massive warehouse project by Bridge Industrial.
Recent enforcement cases include the Electron Hydro dam case, involving contamination of the Puyallup River. In that case, the EPA and DOJ negotiated a Clean Water Act settlement with Electron Hydro and its chief operating officer.
The combination of a reduced workforce, along with a recent freeze on certain grants, is adding up to an uncertain future for the EPA’s work.
Murray contends all the federal workers do not deserve the treatment they’ve received so far.
“We’re talking about everyone from folks supporting the nuclear cleanup work at the Hanford site, to scientists at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, to the people who are making sure you get your Social Security check,” Murray said. “They deserve better than to be threatened, intimidated, and pushed out the door by Elon Musk and Donald Trump.”
The News Tribune’s Shea Johnson contributed to this report.
This story was originally published February 14, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
