Higgins Strategy

From Study VIII, Exhibit 5

The IRS lost the most employees of any component; ICE gained the most

ComponentDepartment or agencyJan 2025May 2026Change%
Internal Revenue ServiceTreasury101,82672,647−29,179−28.7
Veterans Health AdministrationVeterans Affairs424,336399,105−25,231−5.9
Social Security AdministrationSocial Security Administration57,38449,536−7,848−13.7
Air Force Materiel CommandAir Force71,94864,516−7,432−10.3
Transportation Security AdministrationHomeland Security66,09260,311−5,781−8.7
Federal Emergency Management AgencyHomeland Security26,05520,382−5,673−21.8
National Institutes of HealthHealth and Human Services21,51216,544−4,968−23.1
Veterans Benefits AdministrationVeterans Affairs34,59229,685−4,907−14.2
U.S. Agency for International DevelopmentUSAID4,969236−4,733−95.3
Food and Drug AdministrationHealth and Human Services20,96716,261−4,706−22.4
Naval Facilities Engineering CommandNavy18,18913,681−4,508−24.8
U.S. Army Corps of EngineersArmy38,71334,275−4,438−11.5
Environmental Protection AgencyEnvironmental Protection Agency16,93112,557−4,374−25.8
Military Treatment Facilities under DHADefense44,85940,771−4,088−9.1
Naval Sea Systems CommandNavy37,36333,308−4,055−10.9
Bureau of Land ManagementInterior9,7425,732−4,010−41.2
Department of EnergyEnergy16,00512,020−3,985−24.9
Army National Guard UnitsArmy27,91324,057−3,856−13.8
United States Army Installation Management CommandArmy23,32219,764−3,558−15.3
Centers for Disease Control and PreventionHealth and Human Services12,7639,218−3,545−27.8
Small Business AdministrationSmall Business Administration8,5625,097−3,465−40.5
Naval Air Systems CommandNavy30,03326,590−3,443−11.5
Department of StateState14,47811,370−3,108−21.5
Natural Resources Conservation ServiceAgriculture11,8618,867−2,994−25.2
United States Army Futures CommandArmy16,47413,615−2,859−17.4
U.S. Census BureauCommerce13,30610,683−2,623−19.7
Citizenship and Immigration ServicesHomeland Security22,79220,170−2,622−11.5
National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationCommerce12,4079,824−2,583−20.8
Geological SurveyInterior8,4305,877−2,553−30.3
U.S. Fish and Wildlife ServiceInterior8,7426,263−2,479−28.4
Bureau of Prisons/Federal Prison SystemJustice36,05833,614−2,444−6.8
Public Buildings ServiceGeneral Services Administration5,6023,175−2,427−43.3
Agricultural Research ServiceAgriculture7,1094,755−2,354−33.1
Air National Guard UnitsAir Force14,83512,482−2,353−15.9
Federal Bureau of InvestigationJustice37,10734,867−2,240−6
Bureau of ReclamationInterior5,8083,612−2,196−37.8
Air Education and Training CommandAir Force15,12112,928−2,193−14.5
U.S. Marine CorpsNavy18,23616,205−2,031−11.1
United States Fleet Forces CommandNavy35,12933,154−1,975−5.6
Offices, Boards and DivisionsJustice7,1925,259−1,933−26.9
Air Combat CommandAir Force12,40910,492−1,917−15.4
Animal and Plant Health Inspection ServiceAgriculture8,6726,795−1,877−21.6
Federal Aviation AdministrationTransportation46,36644,492−1,874−4
Rural DevelopmentAgriculture4,8733,031−1,842−37.8
Defense Human Resources ActivityDefense2,8601,026−1,834−64.1
U.S. Army Training and Doctrine CommandArmy10,9129,179−1,733−15.9
Indian Health ServiceHealth and Human Services14,03512,351−1,684−12
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Information and TechnologyVeterans Affairs8,4906,836−1,654−19.5
Federal Deposit Insurance CorporationFederal Deposit Insurance Corporation6,5485,046−1,502−22.9
Commander, Naval Information Warfare Systems Command (NAVWARSYSCOM)Navy10,9779,484−1,493−13.6
Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys and the Offices of the U.S. AttorneysJustice11,68610,197−1,489−12.7
Federal Acquisition ServiceGeneral Services Administration4,7533,277−1,476−31.1
DHS HeadquartersHomeland Security5,6514,195−1,456−25.8
Defense Finance and Accounting ServiceDefense10,8469,459−1,387−12.8
Bureau of the Fiscal ServiceTreasury3,2991,941−1,358−41.2
U.S. Army Tank-Automotive and Armament Command (TACOM)Army10,0438,803−1,240−12.3
Defense Commissary AgencyDefense11,35610,136−1,220−10.7
Headquarters, Air Force Reserve CommandAir Force9,9348,764−1,170−11.8
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesHealth and Human Services6,7355,569−1,166−17.3
U.S. Army Civilian Human Resources AgencyArmy4,3883,222−1,166−26.6
Naval Supply Systems CommandNavy7,2496,090−1,159−16
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security AgencyHomeland Security3,3792,231−1,148−34
Patent and Trademark OfficeCommerce14,53713,438−1,099−7.6
Defense Contract Management AgencyDefense9,7388,653−1,085−11.1
Indian AffairsInterior3,8262,742−1,084−28.3
U.S. Army Aviation and Missile CommandArmy6,9075,826−1,081−15.7
Office of Personnel ManagementOffice of Personnel Management3,0551,977−1,078−35.3
Goddard Space Flight CenterNASA3,0852,024−1,061−34.4
Health Resources and Services AdministrationHealth and Human Services2,7141,668−1,046−38.5
U.S. Army Acquisition Support CenterArmy5,6014,558−1,043−18.6
Office of General CounselHousing and Urban Development2,9471,906−1,041−35.3
U.S. Army Joint Munitions CommandArmy5,1794,151−1,028−19.8
Federal Highway AdministrationTransportation3,0011,995−1,006−33.5
Naval Education and Training CommandNavy4,6503,645−1,005−21.6
Food Safety and Inspection ServiceAgriculture8,3107,316−994−12
Office of the Comptroller of the CurrencyTreasury3,6142,643−971−26.9
U.S. Coast GuardHomeland Security9,6858,752−933−9.6
Air Mobility CommandAir Force7,6266,732−894−11.7
Securities and Exchange CommissionSecurities and Exchange Commission4,8123,941−871−18.1
United States Army Cyber CommandArmy4,6163,758−858−18.6
Administration for Children and FamiliesHealth and Human Services2,3111,511−800−34.6
U.S. Army Contracting CommandArmy5,2274,429−798−15.3
Directorate for Administrations, Logistics, and Operations (DALO)Navy5,5254,748−777−14.1
National Institute of Standards and TechnologyCommerce3,9203,154−766−19.5
Agricultural Marketing ServiceAgriculture4,4783,715−763−17
Defense Logistics AgencyDefense23,77523,031−744−3.1
Defense Information Systems AgencyDefense6,8706,159−711−10.3
Defense Counterintelligence and Security AgencyDefense5,6674,975−692−12.2
Pacific Air ForcesAir Force3,7793,089−690−18.3
U.S. Army Reserve CommandArmy8,3367,664−672−8.1
Air Force Global Strike CommandAir Force4,1173,485−632−15.4
U.S. Army Medical CommandArmy3,3512,721−630−18.8
U.S. Pacific Fleet, Commander in ChiefNavy25,95925,333−626−2.4
Defense Health AgencyDefense6,2275,608−619−9.9
U.S. Army Communications Electronics CommandArmy5,6195,013−606−10.8
U.S. Army Sustainment CommandArmy4,3643,766−598−13.7
Defense Contract Audit AgencyDefense3,8143,217−597−15.7
U.S. Army Recruiting Command and U.S. Army Cadet CommandArmy2,6732,129−544−20.4
Farm Service AgencyAgriculture3,2842,752−532−16.2
National Archives and Records AdministrationNational Archives2,8882,358−530−18.4
Bureau of Naval PersonnelNavy4,3173,790−527−12.2
Headquarters, NASANASA2,1411,631−510−23.8
Administration for Strategic Preparedness and ResponseHealth and Human Services5,0574,549−508−10
Office of the Secretary of Health and Human ServicesHealth and Human Services3,0682,576−492−16
Executive Office for Immigration ReviewJustice2,6852,203−482−18
Lyndon B. Johnson Space CenterNASA3,1472,667−480−15.3
U.S. Army Test and Evaluation CommandArmy3,8073,333−474−12.5
Office of Naval ResearchNavy3,0572,586−471−15.4
Nuclear Regulatory CommissionNuclear Regulatory Commission2,9262,457−469−16
Bureau of Labor StatisticsLabor2,2851,846−439−19.2
Missile Defense AgencyDefense2,9072,491−416−14.3
Drug Enforcement AdministrationJustice8,8828,469−413−4.6
HQ USAF and Support ElementsAir Force2,5292,127−402−15.9
Equal Employment Opportunity CommissionEqual Employment Opportunity Commission2,0751,678−397−19.1
Air Force Civilian Career TrainingAir Force3,0762,684−392−12.7
U.S. Army Forces CommandArmy2,5692,182−387−15.1
George C. Marshall Space Flight CenterNASA2,2901,903−387−16.9
John F. Kennedy Space CenterNASA2,0761,693−383−18.4
U.S. Army Intelligence and Security CommandArmy3,4273,105−322−9.4
Immediate Office of the Chief of Naval OperationsNavy2,2381,917−321−14.3
Space Systems CommandAir Force2,8712,561−310−10.8
Bureau of Indian EducationInterior3,0992,791−308−9.9
National Cemetery AdministrationVeterans Affairs2,4292,125−304−12.5
United States Space ForceAir Force2,4392,137−302−12.4
U.S. Military Entrance Processing CommandArmy2,5892,290−299−11.5
Office of the Secretary of DefenseDefense2,7202,439−281−10.3
Joint ActivitiesArmy2,7592,492−267−9.7
Smithsonian Institution (Except Units Administered under Separate Boards of Trustees)Smithsonian Institution3,6583,439−219−6
Naval Medical CommandNavy2,0161,803−213−10.6
U.S. Marshals ServiceJustice5,5325,366−166−3
Departmental OfficesTreasury2,6222,8802589.8
National Park ServiceInterior17,90418,1792751.5
U.S. Secret ServiceHomeland Security8,1428,4312893.5
Forest ServiceAgriculture31,25733,0261,7695.7
Customs and Border ProtectionHomeland Security66,50269,3992,8974.4
Office of the Secretary of the InteriorInterior3,03711,5038,466278.8
Immigration and Customs EnforcementHomeland Security20,59429,2198,62541.9

Source. OPM Federal Workforce Data, EHRI Status snapshots, by agency and agency sub-element. January 2025 to May 2026.

Method and data

Method. Agency sub-elements with 2,000 or more employees in January 2025, sorted by change to May 2026. Three components that go to zero because OPM recoded them are omitted: Commander, Navy Installations (10,917 in January 2025), Department of Defense Education Activity (14,241 in January 2025), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (5,190 in January 2025); Interior’s Office of the Secretary grows from 3,037 to 11,503 for the same reason. The department totals absorb those moves and are the safer comparison.

Download 08-components-jan-2025-may-2026.csv

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Higgins Strategy. “The IRS lost the most employees of any component; ICE gained the most” Exhibit 5, Every Federal Job (Study VIII). October 12, 2026. https://higginsstrategy.com/charts/08-components-jan-2025-may-2026/