Not surprisingly, Trump — in freezing hiring of federal workers — is relying on, um, apparently made-up understandings of the federal workforce growth. While Sean "Baghdad Bob" Spicer says the President is halting the "dramatic expansion of the federal workforce in recent years," the reality is very different:
1. The federal workforce is about the size it was when Barack Obama took office.
2. The federal workforce is growing more slowly than the civilian workforce, including in "recent years."
3. The federal workforce, as a share of the total non-farm workforce, is at its lowest point in 70 years.
But, hey, why let little things like facts get in the way of truthiness and desire policy directions?
If you want to argue that, even in the face of the above statistics, the federal workforce should be smaller, for reasons of philosophy or corporatism or efficiency, that's a legitimate discussion about which many people believe different things. But if you're so insecure about your position that you have to lie about the justification, well, that says something, too.
The Trump administration just told a whopper about the size of the federal workforce
The federal workforce is smaller than it’s ever been, but Trump wants to make it even smaller.
There's an interesting pattern of upticks in the graph line where decadal years occur. Something to do with how the data is measured or real events? The article doesn't comment.
Anyway, if I had a White House Press Corps credential, I'd turn it in. There's nothing useful to be obtained in the building; the truth has Elvised.
+Travis Bird Census workers, I believe.
+Dave Hill That makes sense.