DOGE Hits NIST, Sparks Industry Concerns

WASHINGTON, March 10, 2025 – The Commerce Department terminated more than 70 employees at the National Institute of Standards and Technology on March 3, part of President Donald Trump’s broader federal workforce purge, which has already ousted tens of thousands of civil servants.

The NIST terminations, first reported by NextGov and Politico, came just days before Trump vowed to dismantle the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act in his State of the Union address. That’s likely to undermine the agency responsible for implementing key provisions of the bipartisan law, which allocated $50 billion to bolster U.S. semiconductor manufacturing and research.

NIST also plays a ministerial role in the implementation of the bipartisan infrastructure law that is run by National Telecommunications and Information Administration, another Commerce Department agency.

Democratic lawmakers were quick to condemn the NIST layoffs – as have technology and telecommunications industry groups. Commerce had initially threatened to fire up to 500 NIST employees.

“The firing of such a substantial portion of staff from NIST, particularly probationary staff and postdoctoral fellows hired recently to address urgent national needs, will undermine implementation of the CHIPS and Science Act and directly jeopardize our ability to compete with the People’s Republic of China in critical industries,” wrote Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., Haley Stevens, D-Mich., and Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., in a Feb. 25 letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

Trump’s federal workforce cuts and DOGE requests

The NIST layoffs are part of a broader effort to shrink the federal government, aligning with a Feb. 11 executive order to “eliminat[e] waste, bloat, and insularity” within government agencies. The executive order appears to also apply to independent agencies like the Federal Communications Commission.

On Feb. 24, FCC employees received an email from the Office of Personnel Management instructing them to submit five bullet points summarizing their contributions at work from the past week by Feb. 26 at 11:59 p.m. ET or risk being considered as having resigned.

“Failure to respond will be taken as a resignation,” Trump adviser Elon Musk posted on X at the time, reinforcing the administration’s stance. OPM has since walked back the directive, telling human resource officers at federal agencies that compliance with the request was voluntary — though many workers had already scrambled to justify their positions.

Adding to the uncertainty, a Friday 7 memo from the Office of Management and Budget and OPM ordered agencies to submit plans to drastically reduce their staff size by Thursday, March 13. The seven-page document leaves implementation to agencies but instructs leadership to coordinate with their Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team leads.

Carr: Looking to ‘DOGE-ify’ the FCC

At the FCC’s February meeting, Chairman Brendan Carr, appointed to the chairman by Trump, expressed support for the administration’s workforce reduction push, saying the FCC would soon be looking to make similar workforce cuts.

Carr has not disclosed how many FCC employees could face job losses but has already canceled contracts and is reviewing ways to reduce agency expenditures.

“As a general matter we are looking to drive greater efficiencies out of the FCC’s operations and we are undergoing a review of the various contracts that the FCC has had and we already made adjustments and cancellations of some contracts. I think the American people expect and deserve an efficient operation of their government,” Carr told reporters.

“My [prediction] is that the DOGE itself will interact with the FCC in the not too distant future,” Carr said. “I welcome the direction we are going in terms of being efficient, delivering results, and we have taken some action, and will continue to take action here at the FCC,” he said.

Industry push-back?

The sweeping layoffs at NIST, and pending layoffs at the FCC, have also sparked backlash from both industry groups, who warn that Trump’s workforce reductions could undermine U.S. technological leadership.

On Thursday, the Telecommunications Industry Association, alongside several other cybersecurity and technology trade groups, sent a letter to Lutnick, urging the administration to reconsider the terminations at NIST. 

“In an era of growing cyber threats and evolving technological challenges, NIST’s work is more critical than ever,” the coalition wrote. “NIST’s personnel are highly effective and respected within industry, bringing invaluable expertise to the development of cybersecurity standards and research. Without sustained funding, the agency risks losing its top talent, which would put its ability to provide essential cybersecurity guidance, research, and standards at risk.”

On Monday, the Computer & Communications Industry Association, along with multiple other tech advocacy organizations, issued a separate letter expressing alarm over the administration’s priorities.

The letter was also signed by the Software & Information Industry Association, Americans for Responsible Innovation, the Center for AI Policy, Engine, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, the Internet Infrastructure Coalition and TechNet.

“We emphasize that NIST's work represents a high value investment that directly contributes to U.S. economic growth, competitiveness, and technological leadership,” the groups wrote. “We caution that downsizing NIST or eliminating these initiatives will have ramifications for the ability of the American AI industry to continue to lead globally.”