MISSOULA — Uncertainty over the Trump administration's federal firings and the unpredictable role of Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency have begun to trickle down to the local level.
The early impacts are also coming clear, though the depth of Trump's government shakeup and mass firings remain unclear and have many concerned.
“I'm frustrated by the way they're going about it,” said Missoula City Council member Gwen Jones. “If there have to be cuts, it needs to be thoughtful and intentional, strategic and as effective as possible in terms of having the least impact.”
The Office of Personnel Management maintains data on the federal government's civilian workforce. According to a December 2024 report conducted by Congressional Research Services, Montana had roughly 10,100 federal civilian employees working in the state.
That's slightly more than Idaho, which has 9,988 employees, but far less than Oregon and Washington, which had 19,600 and 56,700 employees respectively.
“We're starting to get news in Montana about folks that have been cut from different agencies,” said Jones. “As these cuts happen, they're going to have a huge impact on Montana, not just those individuals, but our state, our economy and the services that are provided.”
The U.S. Forest Service recently fired around 3,400 employees who were still on probationary status. In Montana, that included 360 people who lost work.
Some fear the cuts could dismantle Montana's trillion-dollar tourist and recreation economy. It could also impact federal wildland firefighting efforts.
Federal agencies employed more than 17,000 wildland fire staffers last year. This year, many of those workers had job offers rescinded — or had their transfers and promotions put on hold — just as they were set to begin onboarding and training for the 2025 fire season, according to States Newsroom.
Jones and several others expressed frustration over how the Trump administration and DOGE are going about the cuts. Up to this point, they believe the firings have been more about politics than concern for the nation's well-being. Some cuts and reversals may also demonstrate a lack of knowledge regarding the role federal services play in communities across the country
When the cuts happen closer to home, they also carry a human toll, they said.
“These firings have not only disrupted critical service delivery but also left families in our community struggling to make ends meet, including several families I'm close friends with,” said council member Eric Melson. “It's just reckless and driven more by political ideology than a genuine effort to improve government efficiency.”
Musk over the weekend ordered federal workers to explain their work or risk losing their jobs. Several hours later, the Office of Personnel Management formally told workers their response was voluntary and not responding would “not equate to resignation.”
But the constant threat of termination and the uncertainty over what lies ahead may have an impact of its own. Some businesses that rely on federal workers are watching the process closely.
“Overall, (we're) not affected yet, but (we're) watching the Federal Aviation Administration's potential job cuts, which may or may not affect their workload, which may cause our Master Plan approval process to be delayed, along with some upcoming discretionary grants that are tied to our summer and fall projects,” Missoula Montana Airport Director Brian Ellestad told the Missoula Current.
Watch related coverage: USFS cuts thousands of jobs; fired Montana forester speaks out
