Former Federal Workers Find New Roles After DOGE Cuts

Nonprofit Work for America helps place ex-government employees in state and local jobs

Published on Feb. 12, 2026

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After the largest reduction in the federal workforce in history, known as the DOGE cuts, thousands of former government employees have found new roles with the help of the nonprofit Work for America. The organization's Civic Match platform has placed nearly 200 job seekers, 150 of which are former federal workers, in positions across the country over the past year.

Why it matters

The DOGE cuts, a key policy of the Trump administration's second term, resulted in the mass layoffs and resignations of hundreds of thousands of federal workers. This has created a need for state and local governments to recruit experienced talent to fill critical roles, which Work for America is helping to address through its Civic Match program.

The details

Chantel Williams, a former General Services Administration employee, opted to take a deferred resignation offer after feeling turmoil about continuing to serve in the federal government under the new administration's priorities. Nate Haight, a former education advisor and contract and grants specialist at USAID, also took the deferred resignation and found a new role as a grants administrator for the city of Indianapolis and Marion County through Work for America's platform.

  • In the spring of 2025, the DOGE cuts began, resulting in the largest reduction of the federal workforce in history.
  • By the end of 2025, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management reported that approximately 352,000 federal employees had exited their roles, with more than 123,000 taking deferred resignation offers.
  • Work for America launched its Civic Match platform in November 2024 to help former federal workers find new roles at the state and local level.

The players

Chantel Williams

A former employee on the hiring and recruitment team at the General Services Administration.

Nate Haight

A former education advisor and contract and grants specialist at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

Caitlin Lewis

The founder of the nonprofit Work for America, which launched in 2024 to help local governments recruit talent to fill gaps in staffing.

Hope Rahill

A former political appointee in the Biden Administration who is now the director of people and culture at Work for America.

Work for America

A nonprofit organization that helps place former federal workers in new roles at the state and local level through its Civic Match platform.

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What they’re saying

“As a federal employee, the oath is to the work and to the role, and not the administration. It started off as feeling very startling that the transition wasn't occurring as seamlessly as it had in prior years, because I had been working at GSA through a transition before.”

— Chantel Williams, Former General Services Administration employee (CNBC)

“I particularly loved my work in the education sector. It was really meaningful being able to go out and see the impact that the programs were having around the world. I was invested in the work and I saw the difference that it was making.”

— Nate Haight, Former education advisor and contract and grants specialist at USAID (CNBC)

“In a place like New York, it really showed me how when you have the right people in the right roles in government, that the public sector really can move mountains, and when you don't, the basics start to fall apart. And unfortunately we've seen that occurring in communities across the country where there hasn't been the ability to get the right talent to lean into critical roles.”

— Caitlin Lewis, Founder of Work for America (CNBC)

What’s next

In the months to come, Civic Match is rolling out new features including AI-powered match scores for candidates, improved location targeting for jobs, city-specific pages and more.

The takeaway

The DOGE cuts have created a significant talent gap in state and local governments across the country, which organizations like Work for America are working to fill by connecting former federal workers with new roles where they can continue to serve their communities.