“Inside the Firings and the Future of the Federal Workforce”

A sweeping effort to expand presidential power and overhaul the federal government began the moment Donald Trump returned to the White House on January 20, 2025. Executive orders targeted the federal workforce, reducing its size and making it more responsive to executive authority. Within a few months, tens of thousands of federal employees were fired, and far more resigned amid threats of mass layoffs. While a flurry of lawsuits has slowed those actions, it’s abundantly clear that the government workforce is not what it was on January 20. What’s unclear is what the government will ultimately become and how the country will be changed in the process.

NPR labor and workplace correspondent Andrea Hsu, a 2012 Knight-Wallace Fellow, has been closely covering the upheaval inside government agencies and the legal fights surrounding it. She’ll share insights from those still working within federal agencies and those who have recently been pushed out, and explore what this transformation could mean for how Americans experience and rely on their government.

This is an in-person event and will not be live-streamed. However, a recording of the lecture will be available on our website following the event.