Res. No.

Resolution calling on the President of the United States to reverse layoffs and cuts to vital federal agencies

By Council Member Ung

Whereas, In the beginning of 2025 there were approximately 2.3 million civilian federal employees; and

Whereas, The federal government agencies perform many vital functions, from overseeing the financial industry to providing food and healthcare for poor children; and

Whereas, President Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency (“DOGE”), run by Elon Musk, are seeking to drastically reduce the size of the federal government by reducing the size of the federal workforce; and

Whereas, During the first months of the Trump administration, tens of thousands of federal government employees have already taken buy-outs, been fired or put on leave; and

Whereas, There are approximately 46,000 federal employees working in New York City; and

Whereas, The Trump administration has sought to fire at least 50,000 federal employees for various agencies; and

Whereas, More than 75,000 federal employees have already taken buyouts in lieu of being fired; and

Whereas, Federal workforce reductions could amount to cuts of more than 13% of the civilian federal workforce; and

Whereas, The Trump administration has reduced staffing at the Department of Education (“DOE”) by 46%; and

Whereas, The DOE is responsible for managing federal student loans, tracks student achievement as well as providing support for programs serving students with disabilities, and their ability to administer these programs will be greatly hampered by the staff cuts; and

Whereas, The Trump administration cut half of the staff in the DOE’s Office for Civil Rights, hampering its ability to enforce civil rights protections for students; and

Whereas, The Trump administration has terminated a $8.4 million grant awarded to Lehman College to train bilingual teachers; and

Whereas, The Trump administration reduced the staff of the United States Agency for International Development (“U.S.A.I.D.”) by more than 99%, effectively eliminating the agency; and

Whereas, U.S.A.I.D. is the government agency that distributes foreign aid 

Whereas, Cuts to U.S.A.I.D. will lead to the termination of vital humanitarian assistance that millions of people across the globe rely on; and

Whereas, The elimination of U.S.A.I.D. has halted programs that prevent and respond to outbreaks of infectious diseases all across the globe; and

Whereas, The Trump administration has sought to reduce the staff of the Consumer Protection Bureau (“CPB”) by 85%; and

Whereas, The CPB is the federal government’s financial industry watchdog, overseeing America’s financial institutions and safeguarding against systematic financial risks, and the elimination of staff will hamper its ability to protect American consumers; and

Whereas, The Trump administration has reduced the staff of the Health and Human Services department by 24%; and

Whereas, Cuts at the Health and Human Services department include the termination of staff with the scientific expertise to respond to current and future biological threats; and

Whereas, The Trump administration has announced plans to terminate grant programs that distributes opioid overdose reversal mediation and other addiction-related grants; and

Whereas, The Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) is predicted to lose 3,500 jobs, or 20% of its staff in the coming months; and

Whereas, The FDA oversees the safety of almost all of the medications Americans take and the food that they eat; and

Whereas, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) is predicted to lose 2,400 jobs or 20% of its staff in the coming months; and 

Whereas, The CDC staff who have already been terminated include individuals who worked on programs to prevent drowning and gun violence, improve worker safety and test for sexually transmitted diseases; and 

Whereas, The Trump administration is seeking to cut the budget of the National Institute of Health (“NIH”) by 40%; and

 Whereas, The NIH has already has terminated contracts and canceled grants that fund research into topics like vaccine hesitancy, transgender health and covid; and

Whereas, The NIH has already halted 61 research projects at the City University of New York (“CUNY”) alone; and

Whereas, Cuts to NIH grants include the cancellation of a $3.3 million grant to CUNY to study whether brief digital messages could increase COVID vaccine rates among adults with mental health issues; and

Whereas, The Trump administration is proposing to cut the Head Start Program, which would eliminated child care for more than a million families; and

Whereas, The Trump administration continues to make additional cuts to various federal agencies; and

Whereas, New cuts to the federal workforce are being announced almost daily; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls on the President of the United States to reverse layoffs and cuts to vital federal agencies.

EHC

LS #19210

Res. #0892-2025

1/5/2026 4:31 PM