Democrats should be cheering President Donald Trump as he approaches a record set by the 42nd president, Bill Clinton, but don’t hold your breath.
Just the News reported Wednesday that Trump — through the work of the Department of Government Efficiency led by Elon Musk — has cut so many federal jobs, the administration could break the record number of cuts set by Clinton during his eight years in the Oval Office.
The Trump administration is set to surpass, after just a few months, what the Clinton administration did in two terms.
Just the News reported that Clinton cut an estimated 426,200 federal jobs, the largest cut since World War II. The data from 1999 put the number at 377,000, while the 426,200 figure was taken in 2000. Clinton was president from January 20, 1993, to January 20, 2001.
Trump’s number stands at 36,000 so far, but figuring in the planned department cuts and buyouts, it’s projected to hit 325,000. “The Trump administration will, within less than half of one year, have reached roughly 76 percent of the Clinton cuts, which took place over eight years,” the news outlet said.
Clinton reduced the size of the federal government from 2.2 million to 1.8 million employees, mostly through buyouts, a method Trump is also making use of. Just the News noted multiple rounds of buyout offers have taken place, giving employees the opportunity to resign and secure pay through Sept. 30.
The Hill reported Thursday that March was the third-highest ever recorded month of job cuts, totalling 275,240, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
Government-sector jobs accounted for the largest share of those cuts, totaling 216,215, according to the report.
Largely publicized firings like those planned or already accomplished at the Department of Education, Internal Revenue Service, and the United States Agency for International Development drew contempt for Musk and Trump.
Just the News said the IRS has already cut 6,000 and plans to cut about half of its 90,000 staff, the DoE has been almost halved from 4,100 to 2,200, and USAID has gone from 10,000 to a few hundred, with numerous other agencies being cut or making announcements of cuts.
This is not the first time comparisons between Clinton and Trump have been made. Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene reposted a 40-minute clip to social media platform X by a user who compiled footage of statements made by the two presidents showing how their mindsets overlap.
Similar statements were also made by former Vice President Al Gore.
Democrats on my DOGE Committee need to watch this video instead of pitching temper tantrums and threatening me with “actual weapons.”
Our $36 TRILLION dollar debt is an everyone problem, NOT a partisan problem.
America simply just can’t afford it anymore. https://t.co/vas0Pv3Tfg
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) February 15, 2025
If Trump and Clinton are so alike, why the outrage?
The difference is that Clinton had a D next to his name when making cuts, and Trump has an R.
Further, the rapidity of Trump’s cuts aren’t the most politically calculated effort, but then again, they shouldn’t be. Trump doesn’t need to worry about the optics when it comes to saving the government money.
A more drawn-out reduction of the workforce over several years could allow Trump and Musk to do their work more covertly as the two could pick the perfect timing to make cuts just as other major developments fill news headlines.
But this administration likes to get things done now.
Comparisons between Trump and Clinton won’t miraculously make Democrats and the left quiet down, but it will show that the president’s efforts are not an aberration.
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