DOGE job cuts have disproportionate effect on Black federal workers

Marketplace Morning Report

American Public Media

News, Business

4.5 • 808 Ratings

🗓️ 21 May 2025

⏱️ 7 minutes

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Summary

Government employment has long been a reliable pathway to Black middle-class prosperity. More than 18% of the federal workforce is Black versus about 12% of the civilian workforce overall. That means that the estimated 260,000 federal jobs eliminated this year by President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency will be particularly felt by Black federal workers. But first: The House Committee working on the Republican tax bill could be in for a long day.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Congress is still slogging its way to a tax bill. From Marketplace, I'm Sabri Beneshore, in for David Brancaccio. The House Committee working on the Republican tax bill could be in for a long day. After a very long night, the committee started its hearing it won this morning, Washington time, and it's not done yet. Marketplace's Nancy Marshall-Gensur joins us now live with details. Hi, Nancy.
0:22.6	Hey, Sabrina.
0:23.6	So what is the situation right now?
0:26.6	Well, they've been up all night. And remember, this bill would extend the 2017 tax cuts. The House Rules Committee is considering changes that would satisfy some GOP holdouts. And there is still
0:39.7	tension between Republicans who want to cut more and some who want to protect their constituents
0:44.8	from cuts to benefits. The Congressional Budget Office had something to say about who would
0:50.7	gain the most under this House version of the tax bill that's being considered?
0:54.8	What did they find?
0:59.0	Yeah, House Democrats asked CBO for this analysis.
1:08.7	It found the House bill would increase the incomes of the wealthiest 10% of Americans while lowering the incomes of the bottom 10%. And CBO also found the House Republican bill would increase the deficit
1:12.6	by more than $2 trillion over the next decade, and that would trigger automatic spending cuts to
1:18.6	Medicare and other programs. Now, of course, once this bill gets through the House, it goes to the
1:23.7	Senate. There were some movement there around taxes on tips. Can you tell us what happened
1:28.7	there? Yeah, the Senate passed a bill yesterday that would allow certain tipped workers a tax
1:34.2	exemption of up to $25,000 a year on their tips. So that's one part of the House legislation
1:40.4	the Senate supports, although there are lots of other things it plans to change
1:44.5	when it finally gets the House bill. All right, Marketplace is Nancy Marshall Genser. Thank you so
1:49.9	much. You're welcome. Fortnite, one of the world's most popular video games is back in the Apple
1:56.4	store after a years-long battle with Apple. Apple charges up to 30% commission on sales through its app store.
2:02.4	Apple kicked Fortnite out after it tried to get around that commission.
2:06.5	Fortnite's owner at the game sued, saying that violated antitrust rules.
2:10.4	The legal fight is still ongoing. So far, around 6,000 federal workers have been fired, retired early, or taken buyout since the Trump administration took office, according to Reuters.
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