Over 10,000 lawyers have left the federal government since the end of 2024: Report

Published May 31, 2026 9:00pm ET | Updated June 1, 2026 9:22am ET



Over 10,000 lawyers have left the federal government since just before President Donald Trump took office in January 2025, according to a report released Sunday.

The federal employment data show that approximately one-fifth of government lawyers employed at the end of December 2024 had left by March 2026, suggesting that the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce the federal workforce have been at least somewhat successful.

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