Publications

The federal government now has the largest political workforce in at least 40 years and the smallest career senior leadership in at least 25 years—simultaneously. In the first year of his second term, President Donald Trump placed more non-Senate confirmed political appointees across agencies than any modern president and did so at a historically fast pace.

In 2024, the Partnership for Public Service and USAFacts launched the Federal Data Excellence Program to recognize standout federal data products that empower leaders to make better decisions, enable greater agency accountability and give Americans a better understanding of their government. At the same time, a lot has changed over the past year, with potential implications for federal data. In 2025, the Trump administration reshaped the operations and management of the federal government, leading to staffing and funding changes across many agencies. In addition, the federal government experienced a historic 43-day shutdown in the fall. 

The federal government now has the largest political workforce in at least 40 years and the smallest career senior leadership in at least 25 years—simultaneously. In the first year of his second term, President Donald Trump placed more non-Senate confirmed political appointees across agencies than any modern president and did so at a historically fast pace.

On Inauguration Day in 2025, President Donald Trump issued an executive order directing the Office of Personnel Management and other federal agencies to take the radical step of removing long-standing due process protections from tens of thousands of career federal employees in “policy-influencing” positions. Stripped of the safeguards enshrined in the federal merit system, these employees will lose any right to appeal their firing or other adverse action taken against them under a new regulation that is based on the president’s executive order.

Since his inauguration on Jan. 20, 2025, President Donald Trump has undertaken the most radical transformation of the federal government in over a half-century, arbitrarily slashing the federal workforce, unilaterally dismantling agencies and eliminating critical programs and services.

Retirement. Disability. Medicare. Insurance claims. Passport applications. Taxes. Student loans. These are all stressful, emotionally charged issues that millions of Americans deal with every day – but they shouldn’t have to deal with difficult-to-access services and poor customer experience too.