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- U.S. Rep. Blake Moore says there's "a lot of frustration" as moves to slash the federal workforce move ahead.
- Utah's 1st District, which Moore represents, has a particularly high concentration of federal civilian employees, many employed by the IRS.
- Thousands of federal workers have been fired or face firing, according to several news reports Friday, including some from the IRS.
OGDEN — As news outlets report the firings of thousands of federal workers across the country, a relatively large contingent in northern Utah is likely paying close attention.
Weber County has a particularly strong concentration of IRS workers, and Reuters reported Friday that the federal agency is preparing to fire "thousands" of its employees on the orders of the Office of Personnel Management. They count among the relatively new hires, probationary employees, who don't yet have full job protections, the news agency said. More broadly, USA Today on Friday reported thousands of firings of probationary workers across multiple departments.
However the job cuts pushed by President Donald Trump as he moves to reduce the size of the federal government pan out, though, northern Utah, more specifically the 1st U.S. House District, could be particularly hard hit. Congressional Research Service data shows that the 1st District, represented by U.S. Rep. Blake Moore, a Republican, has one of the highest concentrations of federal civilian workers in the nation.
The district, where an estimated 5.92% of all workers are federal civilian employees, ranked 25th on the list of 435 U.S. congressional districts and Washington, D.C., by share of workers employed by the U.S. government. That 5.92% figure represents an estimated 26,555 workers. The figures in the Congressional Research Service report from last December — U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey estimates for 2023 — don't include military personnel.
Top on the list, perhaps unsurprisingly, was Washington, D.C., where 18.49% of civilian workers are employed by the federal government, followed by several congressional districts in Maryland and Virginia, which abut the U.S. capital. In fact, outside Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia, Utah's 1st District has the 13th highest concentration of federal workers, tied with Ohio's 10th District.
Moore wasn't immediately available for comment, but he said in his constituent newsletter, sent Monday, Feb. 11, that he heard from a contingent of federal employees at a recent town hall gathering he held in Kaysville.
"My big takeaway was that there is a lot of frustration regarding the rhetoric toward and vilification of the federal workforce," he wrote. "The 1st District has one of the highest numbers of federal workers in the nation, and that is something I very much appreciate and value."
According to the Utah Department of Workforce Services, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, which oversees the IRS, employed 7,000 to 9,999 workers in Weber County as of 2023, making it the single largest employer in the county. Weber County sits entirely within the 1st District.
In Davis County, the Department of Workforce Services said the U.S. Department of Defense employed between 10,000 and 14,999, though it didn't specify if that included military personnel. Part of Davis County, including Hill Air Force Base, sits in the 1st District, and part sits in the 2nd District.
As Trump presses to reduce the federal workforce in a bid to cut government waste and spending, Moore said in his newsletter that he understands the sentiments that were apparently vetted at the Kaysville meeting.
"I also provided context as to why it is necessary to explore every angle of the budget," wrote Moore, who as a lawmaker has prioritized reducing the federal deficit. "And while this will be a period of angst and even contention, we're going to come out of it for the better."
Moore serves as co-chairman on the Delivering Outstanding Government Efficiency, or DOGE, Caucus in the U.S. House. The body is to work with Trump's Department of Government Efficiency, headed by businessman Elon Musk, in slashing federal spending and the federal workforce. He referenced that role in his newsletter.
"My commitment to this, either through the DOGE Caucus or the regular appropriations process, is to find waste while preserving the mission and strengthening personnel. Many key function areas are severely understaffed, like air traffic controllers, and I want 1st District constituents to know that I avoid the rhetoric and focus on results," Moore wrote.
A local rep from one of the unions representing IRS workers in Weber County, the National Treasury Employees Union, didn't respond to a query Friday seeking comment. The labor organization, though, partnered with several other unions in filing a federal lawsuit against Trump and his administration on Wednesday to halt the federal government from firing probationary workers and others.
"All of these orders are further evidence that this administration is motivated not by efficiency, but by cruelty and a total disregard for the government services that will be lost," NTEU President Doreen Greenwald said in a statement.
