On March 26, 2025
State News

The long arm of DOGE reaches into Vermont

Courtesy Office of Personnel Management Chart shows the number of Vermonters employed by the federal government by agency.

By Sarah Lyons, Public Assets

More than 3,000 Vermonters are caught in the on-again, off-again firings and layoffs of federal employees by the Trump administration and the Dept. of Government Efficiency (DOGE). It is challenging to keep track of who has a job and who doesn’t, or even of which departments still exist. 

During the first two months of Trump’s second term, DOGE ordered mass layoffs of federal agency employees. Federal judges reinstated the workers in 19 agencies, including the Dept. of Education and the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, and temporarily paused firings. But uncertainty remains as to whether the reinstatements will hold and how long the pause will last—if, that is, the administration complies with the court orders. 

According to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which oversees the federal workforce, there are over 3,000 federal employees based in Vermont. Of these, roughly 80% are at least temporarily protected under the recent court orders; more than 500 Vermonters work for agencies that did not receive protections. 

The largest federal employers in Vermont are the departments of Veterans Affairs, Homeland Security, and Agriculture. These three agencies account for nearly three-quarters of the state’s federal workers and are all protected under the recent court orders. 

Notably, the OPM data are not comprehensive. They do not count workers from several federal agencies or departments, including Vermont’s nearly 1,500 postal workers, nor do they count agencies with fewer than four Vermont-based employees.

Do you want to submit feedback to the editor?

Send Us An Email!

Related Posts

Vt Legislature advances bill to ban toxic ‘forever chemicals’ from firefighting gear, dental floss, cleaning products

June 4, 2025
The Vermont Senate and House advance legislation (H.238) May 29 that would outlaw the use of toxic perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in firefighting gear, dental floss, cleaning products, and fluorine-treated containers—a critical step in reducing Vermonters’ exposure to these harmful substances. The Senate expanded the bill as passed by the House by adding a provision that…

To be continued…

June 4, 2025
A final compromise on education reform proved elusive late Friday, and at about 11 p.m., the Senate adjourned, followed by the House at about 11:30 p.m. As late as 10 p.m., legislative leaders were still hopeful that the six conferees (three House and three Senate members) could reach a deal sometime before midnight that would…

Nearing the end?

June 4, 2025
After passing several challenging bills in the last few weeks, the Vermont Legislature adjourned until June 16 due to an impasse over negotiations on our education transformation bill, H.454. Many other bills addressing housing, homelessness, healthcare, and several other major issues required compromises from both the House and the Senate in order to be passed…

Vermont gets $23 million from ongoing settlement with tobacco manufacturers

June 4, 2025
Attorney General Charity Clark announced last month that Vermont received a total of $23,132,483.92 from tobacco manufacturers under the tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (MSA). Annually, Vermont receives monies from tobacco manufacturers from the MSA, which resolved the state’s lawsuit filed in the 1990s. The settlement funds are credited to the state’s Tobacco Fund, and the…