Trump administration dismisses early-career federal employees. This may change the trajectory of government operations.
The reductions occur in the context of increasing attrition from an aging federal workforce, which has raised concerns within the Biden administration about the potential for a weakened government without proactive measures.
TroibNews 
Federal agencies have significantly reduced early career recruiting and development programs as part of broader government spending cuts, raising concerns among employees about the potential impact on governmental operations.
These annual training initiatives, which vary in length from a couple of months to two years, have traditionally served as essential entry points for numerous mission-driven college graduates and career changers seeking full-time roles in public service. The Biden administration promoted these programs to attract younger professionals, countering the trend of an aging federal workforce preparing for retirement.
However, with the Trump administration and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency dismantling parts of the federal workforce to curb spending, many individuals involved in these programs have lost their positions. In recent weeks, federal agencies have initiated mass layoffs affecting thousands of probationary workers. A memo from the Office of Personnel Management declared that agencies should utilize all available methods to reduce staff, including “attrition and allowing term or temporary positions” like these programs “to expire without renewal."
At the Department of Housing and Urban Development, recent law school graduates participating in a legal honors training program were let go starting in mid-February, according to two staffers familiar with the matter. Similarly, Presidential Management Fellows engaged in leadership training at the National Institutes of Health and other agencies were terminated over the weekend of Valentine’s Day, as confirmed by an NIH supervisor and fellow. Additionally, the U.S. Digital Corps fellowship at the General Services Administration, which offers recent graduates the chance to work on government technical services, is expected to be cut by approximately 75 percent, according to two GSA managers who requested anonymity.
The simultaneous closure of early-career programs and resultant mass departures threatens to erode crucial knowledge regarding complex government functions. A HUD attorney involved in the legal honors program noted that this situation makes it easier to undermine or eliminate key operations within federal agencies.
Some of these funding cuts were foreshadowed when the Trump administration enacted a 90-day hiring freeze, prompting agencies like HUD and the Justice Department to retract offers for early-career programs, including unpaid externships scheduled to begin this winter or summer.
It remains uncertain how many early career programs have been eliminated overall or whether these changes are permanent. Last week, President Trump signed an executive order that curtails the Presidential Management Fellows program. The Office of Personnel Management, which manages the government's employee services, did not respond to multiple inquiries. White House DOGE adviser Katie Miller directed PMG to HUD for comments, which did not respond, while other agencies declined to comment.
Six current and recently let-go government employees—most of whom participated in these programs—express concerns about the federal government's future amid the terminations of early career program participants. The loss of employees who have guided complex operational and policy decisions, alongside cuts affecting both junior and more seasoned staff members recently promoted, reflects a broader trend. Concurrently, there have been efforts to fill agencies with loyalists bent on dismantling traditional functions that are perceived as excessive bureaucracy.
A HUD attorney emphasized that these changes threaten to compromise the government’s ability to “uphold our statutory obligations to provide safe rental housing to low-income families or investigate complaints of discrimination.” This, they warned, opens the door for radical political agendas to undermine HUD’s mission.
Jacqueline Simon, public policy director of the American Federation of Government Employees, the largest federal employee union, stated, “If these programs continue to exist, there might be a whole new way of qualifying people. Instead of skills, it might be political loyalty.”
Given the indications presented by the hiring freeze and widespread terminations, it seems unlikely that the Trump administration will soon reopen recruitment channels for early-career professionals.
The elimination of these early career programs is likely to prevent many new staff from entering the federal workforce. Early career professionals face significant challenges in competing with external applicants who often possess considerably more experience. They are also unable to benefit from internal procedures connected to these programs that prioritize participants for hiring opportunities.
Camelia Pesquera Zambrana, a third-year law student whose offer for the legal honors program was retracted recently, explained, “This was basically the only opportunity entry-level attorneys have into the federal government, specifically federal agencies. I think I’m going to focus on the private sector, build up my resume … and then maybe transition into public sector work.”
Zambrana acknowledged that this transition could take years. Even if the legal honors program is reinstated, she will be ineligible to reapply because it excludes individuals who have taken the bar exam, which she plans to do shortly after graduating this summer.
Without the restoration of these programs, the exodus of young talent amidst high federal turnover could leave agencies significantly weakened in the coming years, potentially leading to “very painful consequences once systems and services slow down or disappear for millions of Americans,” as noted by a GSA fellow.
"You burned a bridge with young talent," expressed an NIH presidential management fellow. "I wanted to support the research enterprise and help the government because I believe it has a positive impact on people. But why would I put myself through this again to make half of what I could make in the private industry?"
Rohan Mehta for TROIB News
These annual training initiatives, which vary in length from a couple of months to two years, have traditionally served as essential entry points for numerous mission-driven college graduates and career changers seeking full-time roles in public service. The Biden administration promoted these programs to attract younger professionals, countering the trend of an aging federal workforce preparing for retirement.
However, with the Trump administration and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency dismantling parts of the federal workforce to curb spending, many individuals involved in these programs have lost their positions. In recent weeks, federal agencies have initiated mass layoffs affecting thousands of probationary workers. A memo from the Office of Personnel Management declared that agencies should utilize all available methods to reduce staff, including “attrition and allowing term or temporary positions” like these programs “to expire without renewal."
At the Department of Housing and Urban Development, recent law school graduates participating in a legal honors training program were let go starting in mid-February, according to two staffers familiar with the matter. Similarly, Presidential Management Fellows engaged in leadership training at the National Institutes of Health and other agencies were terminated over the weekend of Valentine’s Day, as confirmed by an NIH supervisor and fellow. Additionally, the U.S. Digital Corps fellowship at the General Services Administration, which offers recent graduates the chance to work on government technical services, is expected to be cut by approximately 75 percent, according to two GSA managers who requested anonymity.
The simultaneous closure of early-career programs and resultant mass departures threatens to erode crucial knowledge regarding complex government functions. A HUD attorney involved in the legal honors program noted that this situation makes it easier to undermine or eliminate key operations within federal agencies.
Some of these funding cuts were foreshadowed when the Trump administration enacted a 90-day hiring freeze, prompting agencies like HUD and the Justice Department to retract offers for early-career programs, including unpaid externships scheduled to begin this winter or summer.
It remains uncertain how many early career programs have been eliminated overall or whether these changes are permanent. Last week, President Trump signed an executive order that curtails the Presidential Management Fellows program. The Office of Personnel Management, which manages the government's employee services, did not respond to multiple inquiries. White House DOGE adviser Katie Miller directed PMG to HUD for comments, which did not respond, while other agencies declined to comment.
Six current and recently let-go government employees—most of whom participated in these programs—express concerns about the federal government's future amid the terminations of early career program participants. The loss of employees who have guided complex operational and policy decisions, alongside cuts affecting both junior and more seasoned staff members recently promoted, reflects a broader trend. Concurrently, there have been efforts to fill agencies with loyalists bent on dismantling traditional functions that are perceived as excessive bureaucracy.
A HUD attorney emphasized that these changes threaten to compromise the government’s ability to “uphold our statutory obligations to provide safe rental housing to low-income families or investigate complaints of discrimination.” This, they warned, opens the door for radical political agendas to undermine HUD’s mission.
Jacqueline Simon, public policy director of the American Federation of Government Employees, the largest federal employee union, stated, “If these programs continue to exist, there might be a whole new way of qualifying people. Instead of skills, it might be political loyalty.”
Given the indications presented by the hiring freeze and widespread terminations, it seems unlikely that the Trump administration will soon reopen recruitment channels for early-career professionals.
The elimination of these early career programs is likely to prevent many new staff from entering the federal workforce. Early career professionals face significant challenges in competing with external applicants who often possess considerably more experience. They are also unable to benefit from internal procedures connected to these programs that prioritize participants for hiring opportunities.
Camelia Pesquera Zambrana, a third-year law student whose offer for the legal honors program was retracted recently, explained, “This was basically the only opportunity entry-level attorneys have into the federal government, specifically federal agencies. I think I’m going to focus on the private sector, build up my resume … and then maybe transition into public sector work.”
Zambrana acknowledged that this transition could take years. Even if the legal honors program is reinstated, she will be ineligible to reapply because it excludes individuals who have taken the bar exam, which she plans to do shortly after graduating this summer.
Without the restoration of these programs, the exodus of young talent amidst high federal turnover could leave agencies significantly weakened in the coming years, potentially leading to “very painful consequences once systems and services slow down or disappear for millions of Americans,” as noted by a GSA fellow.
"You burned a bridge with young talent," expressed an NIH presidential management fellow. "I wanted to support the research enterprise and help the government because I believe it has a positive impact on people. But why would I put myself through this again to make half of what I could make in the private industry?"
Rohan Mehta for TROIB News
