Receipt
Donald Trump (Kentucky rally, 17 Oct 2026), quoted by The Post Millennial
TRUMP: More Americans are working today than at any time in the history of our country — and that's despite the fact that we let go of over one million federal employees!
Donald Trump (Kentucky rally, 17 Oct 2026), quoted by The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial)
TRUMP: More Americans are working today than at any time in the history of our country — and that's despite the fact that we let go of over one million federal employees!
Verdict: Not true.
The Office of Personnel Management's own workforce dashboard shows the federal workforce down 264,029 since 20 Jan 2025, with data through August 2026. Bureau of Labor Statistics payroll data show federal employment fell from 3,010,000 in Jan 2025 to 2,682,000 in Sept 2026, about 328,000. OPM Director Scott Kupor put all 2025 departures at about 317,000. No official count comes close to one million.
- Period checked
- OPM workforce change since 20 Jan 2025 (data as of August 2026); BLS federal payrolls, Jan 2025 to Sept 2026; OPM's 2025 departure count; compared with the 17 Oct 2026 rally remark and post
- Data pulled
- Source archive
- https://web.archive.org/web/20261018135622/https://data.opm.gov/explore-data/analytics/workforce-changes
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics via FRED, "All Employees, Federal" (CES9091000001), monthly, seasonally adjusted: 3,010,000 in Jan 2025 and 2,682,000 in Sept 2026
- https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CES9091000001
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics via FRED, "All Employees, Federal" (CES9091000001) (archived 18 Oct 2026)
- https://web.archive.org/web/20261018135651/https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CES9091000001
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics via FRED, "All Employees, Federal" (CES9091000001), data CSV (archived 18 Oct 2026)
- https://web.archive.org/web/20261018135707/https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/fredgraph.csv?id=CES9091000001
- Scott Kupor, Director, U.S. Office of Personnel Management, "Everyone Has a Plan – Until You Step Into the Ring," OPM Secrets of OPM blog, 21 Nov 2025: the government hired roughly 68,000 people in 2025 while approximately 317,000 employees left
- https://www.opm.gov/news/secrets-of-opm/everyone-has-a-plan-until-you-step-into-the-ring/
- Scott Kupor, "Everyone Has a Plan – Until You Step Into the Ring," OPM (archived 10 Oct 2026)
- https://web.archive.org/web/20261010231950/https://www.opm.gov/news/secrets-of-opm/everyone-has-a-plan-until-you-step-into-the-ring/
- Rapid Response 47, video of the 17 Oct 2026 Kentucky rally remark
- https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2111532091745718562
- Our post on X
- https://x.com/NotTrueBot/status/2111845274742124670
- Date