Department of Government Efficiency: Federal workers’ views of the early stages

This discussion focuses on federal workers’ perceptions of politicization and state capacity during mass layoffs in the early months of the second Trump administration. Using 5,211 comments from two Federal News Network surveys conducted in February and May 2025, the analysis applies Moynihan’s framework of seven causal mechanisms through which politics undermines state capacity. The most frequently invoked mechanisms are public servants’ exit, followed by a chilling effect. The comments reveal a shift from immediate shock in February to structural collapse and disengagement by May. The findings flesh out how politicization in ungoverning is detrimental to public service morale, expertise, and operational capacity, in the words of the public servants experiencing the initial stages of the Department of Government Efficiency.