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By Khaleda Rahman
National Correspondent
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Federal workers and their supporters rallied against the Trump administration's job cuts in San Francisco on Sunday, calling them a "power grab" that threatens crucial services.
Mark Smith, president of the National Federation of Federal Employees 1, and other speakers said the cuts were for the benefit of billionaires, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
"It's not about cutting waste. It's not about efficiency. It's about power," Smith said. "The plan is simple: You force privatization and sell off our services to billionaires so they can make a profit."
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The protests come as tens of thousands of job losses have been announced by federal agencies amid efforts by Elon Musk and Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to shrink the federal workforce.
Newsweek has contacted DOGE for comment via a message on X, formerly Twitter.
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Where Else Have Protests Taken Place?
Similar demonstrations against the cuts have taken place across the U.S. in recent weeks.
Thousands gathered for a rally in New York on Friday to protest the mass firings and proposed cuts to Medicaid, Medicare and other programs, while veterans gathered across the country to protest the Trump administration's cuts to veteran services on Friday.
Other protests have seen demonstrators gathering outside Tesla showrooms across the country to protest Musk's work with DOGE. Those protests have been organized by the "Tesla Takedown" movement, which is urging people to "sell your Teslas, dump your stock, join the picket lines."
More than 80 protests were planned for Saturday, according to CNN. More than 300 people gathered outside a showroom in Baltimore, while at least 100 people gathered outside one in the Boston suburb of Dedham, and at least 50 gathered outside a showroom in Washington, D.C., the network reported.
Tesla Takedown said in a statement to Newsweek last week that it is "a nonviolent grassroots protest movement." It added: "If you're ready to show Donald Trump and Elon Musk that there are no kings in America, join a Tesla Takedown protest in your community this weekend."
Cuts To Voice Of America
The Trump administration has been urged to reverse a decision to slash funding to Voice of America (VOA) and other pro-democracy media.
President Donald Trump directed his administration on Friday night to reduce the functions of several agencies to the minimum required by law, including the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which houses VOA.
Former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, whom Trump named a senior adviser to the agency, said on X that "from top-to-bottom, this agency is a giant rot and burden to the American taxpayer—a national security risk for this nation—and irretrievably broken. While there are bright spots within the agency with personnel who are talented and dedicated public servants, this is the exception rather than the rule."
Michael Abramowitz, the organization's director, said in a statement on LinkedIn: "I am deeply saddened that for the first time in 83 years, the storied Voice of America is being silenced."
He added that "virtually" all of VOA's more than 1,300 journalists, producers and support staff have been placed on administrative leave.
The move means VOA "will be unable to carry out its vital mission," he said. "That mission is especially critical today, when America's adversaries, like Iran, China, and Russia, are sinking billions of dollars into creating false narratives to discredit the United States."
Reporters Without Borders, a press advocacy group, said it "condemns this decision as a departure from the U.S.'s historic role as a defender of free information and calls on the U.S. government to restore VOA and urges Congress and the international community to take action against this unprecedented move."
The Association for International Broadcasting warned that the move would embolden authoritarian regimes around the world.
"At a time when the world is looking to the US to be a global player for peace and freedom, cutting funding for US international media—one of the main instruments underpinning this goal—seems the wrong direction to take," Simon Spanswick, the association's chief executive, said in a statement.
How Many Jobs Has DOGE Cut So Far?
Tens of thousands of job losses have been announced across numerous federal agencies.
Last week, it was reported that the Internal Revenue Service plans to lose about 18,000 employees, or about 20 percent of its workforce. Meanwhile, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy told Congress that 10,000 workers at the United States Postal Service would be cut within a month.
The Department of Education last week announced plans to lay off more than 1,300 employees, while the Department of Veterans Affairs is planning a reorganization that includes cutting 80,000 jobs, according to an internal memo obtained by the Associated Press this month.
At least 24,000 probationary workers have been terminated since Trump took office, according to a lawsuit filed by nearly 20 states alleging the mass firings are illegal. Last week, two federal judges ordered 19 federal agencies to reinstate probationary workers who were fired.
Meanwhile, about 75,000 federal workers accepted the offer to quit in return for receiving pay and benefits until September 30.
How Much Spending Has DOGE Cut So Far?
DOGE has said it has saved the federal government an estimated $115 billion as of March 11, equating it to about $714 per taxpayer.
DOGE says the receipts provided on the website represent about 30 percent of total savings, meaning the top-line figure is not yet verifiable.
According to the Musk Watch DOGE Tracker designed by data analyst Brian Banks, the verifiable savings, as of March 11, are about $8.6 billion.
Is DOGE A Government Agency?
Trump signed an executive order on his first day back in office on January 20, officially creating DOGE to modernize "federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity."
Despite its name, it is not a government agency created by an act of Congress but a task force charged with recommending ways to root out waste and slashing government spending.
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