When We Target Federal Workers, Whom Are We Targeting? Three Perspectives on U.S. Federal Workers

The U.S. Department of Government Efficiency has targeted U.S. federal workers through downsizings, funding reductions, and delegitimization efforts. When we target federal workers, whom are we targeting? The author offers a three-dimensional description of civilian federal workers, highlighting commonalities, inequalities, and majority composition. Data come from the Current Population Survey, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Federal workers are prevalent across metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas in red states, blue states, and swing states. About 1 in every 28 children in 2024 lived with a federal worker, potentially targeted by the Department of Government Efficiency in 2025. In veterans’ households, that number was about 1 in 9 children. Federal workers are prevalent across all ethnoracial groups. Most federal workers are White, and most downsized federal workers are likely to be White. But Black, Native American, and multiracial people are overrepresented among federal workers, and Native American federal workers may be even further overrepresented among the downsized. So whom are we targeting? People who resemble most Americans, people supporting millions of children across the country, and, disproportionately, veterans and members of several marginalized ethnoracial groups. Moving forward, this type of three-dimensional description can be applied to understand populations beyond federal workers.