Wisconsin
Wisconsin has thousands of federal employees. Which agencies do they work for?
Watchdog groups and lawmakers say Musk’s DOGE takeover of the Treasury department could be the largest data breach in US history
Trump administration aides locked officials out of government computers and offered buyouts to federal employees.
Thousands of federal employees working in Wisconsin could be affected by two recent actions from the Trump administration.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 20 mandating all federal employees return to in-person work, then the administration began offering buyouts a week later for those who don’t wish to return to the office.
Under the offer, eligible employees would have eight months of pay and benefits through September if they resigned by Thursday, Feb. 6.
Since then, 20,000 employees — or about 1% of the total federal workforce — had accepted the offer as of Tuesday, Feb. 4, according to USA TODAY.
However, the executive order is facing a legal challenge, since the American Federation of Government Employees filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration. A federal judge paused the buyout offer ahead of employees’ deadline and set a hearing for Monday, Feb. 10.
Here’s what to know about the federal workforce in Wisconsin:
How many federal employees are in Wisconsin?
There are 18,022 federal civilian employees in Wisconsin as of March 2024, according to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) FedScope online data tool.
FedScope does exclude a number of departments and agencies, including the majority of the legislative and judicial branches and the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), per the Congressional Research Service (CRS).
The USPS employs 10,700 people in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin metropolitan area, which includes Wisconsin, according to a May 2023 report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
What cabinet-level agencies do Wisconsin federal employees work for?
Most federal employees in Wisconsin work for cabinet-level agencies as of March 2024, FedScope data shows. March 2024 was the most recent data available. Here’s a deeper look at employees by agency:
- Department of the Air Force: 374
- Department of Agriculture: 1,743
- Department of the Army: 1,803
- Department of Commerce: 307
- Department of Defense: 121
- Department of Justice: 159
- Department of Labor: 107
- Department of Energy: 15
- Department of Education: N/A
- Department of Health and Human Services: 179
- Department of Homeland Security: 130
- Department of Housing and Urban Development: 40
- Department of the Interior: 742
- Department of the Navy: 121
- Department of State: N/A
- Department of Transportation: 245
- Department of the Treasury: 157
- Department of Veteran Affairs: 10,930
What large independent agencies do Wisconsin federal employees work for?
In total, 815 federal employees in Wisconsin work for larger independent agencies as of March 2024, FedScope data shows. Here’s a deeper look at employees by agency:
- U.S. Agency for International Development: N/A
- National Credit Union Administration: N/A
- Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: 22
- Environmental Protection Agency: 18
- Federal Communications Commission: N/A
- Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation: 85
- Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia: N/A
- Federal Reserve System: N/A
- Federal Trade Commission: N/A
- General Services Administration: 56
- U.S. Agency for Global Media: N/A
- Government Printing Office: N/A
- National Science Foundation: N/A
- National Labor Relations Board: 16
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration: N/A
- National Archives and Records Administration: N/A
- Nuclear Regulatory Commission: N/A
- Office of Personnel Management: N/A
- Small Business Administration: 26
- Securities and Exchange Commission: N/A
- Smithsonian Institution: N/A
- Social Security Administration: 550
What medium and smaller independent agencies do Wisconsin federal employees work for?
In total, 25 federal employees in Wisconsin work for medium independent agencies as of March 2024, according to FedScope. Though, state totals for federal employees at specific agencies of this size are not available.
Similarly, no state data is available for federal employees at smaller agencies.
USA TODAY reporters Joey Garrison and Maureen Groppe contributed to this report.
Wisconsin guard Andrew Rohde reflects on early March Madness exit
Wisconsin guard Andrew Rohde said the Badgers ‘thought we could do so many things’ in the NCAA Tournament before it ended abrupty with an upset loss.
Wisconsin men’s basketball has added a sharpshooting wing via the transfer portal.
Miami (Ohio) transfer Eian Elmer has signed with the Badgers, the team announced April 18. The 6-foot-7 wing will join UW with one year of eligibility remaining.
Elmer averaged a career-high 12.7 points and 5.9 rebounds while shooting 49.8% from the field and 42.9% from 3-point range in 2025-26. His production helped the RedHawks go 32-2 and earn an at-large NCAA Tournament bid.
“We are really excited to add another excellent addition to our spring signees,” UW coach Greg Gard said in a release. “Eian brings a wealth of experience and scoring punch as a 6-7 wing. … A terrific shooter, his skillset and production fit excellently into our plan as we build out next year’s team. Throughout our evaluation process, our staff loved his size, power and skill and truly believe he will thrive in our system.”
Elmer is Wisconsin’s third transfer portal addition since the end of the 2025-26 season, joining former George Washington guard Trey Autry and former Hofstra forward Victory Onuetu. UW also added Australian guard Owen Foxwell.
The additions of Autry, Onuetu and now Elmer leave Gard’s staff with three more roster spots to fill ahead of the 2026-27 season.
The Badgers are looking to replace much of their production from a 2025-26 team that went 24-11. Nolan Winter is expected to be the team’s only returning starter after John Blackwell and Aleksas Bieliauskas entered the transfer portal and Nick Boyd and Andrew Rohde exhausted their eligibility.
MILWAUKEE – Friday’s severe storms have passed. And with that, the threat of any severe weather has also passed for the immediate future as no storms or rain are expected for several days.
However, plenty of damage remains across southeastern Wisconsin as of Saturday morning, in addition to the ongoing flooding threat.
Several area rivers are at flood stage, and there are multiple river flood warnings in effect.
FOX6 Weekend WakeUp on Saturday begins at 6 a.m.
On the scene in the morning
What we know:
Farmstead damage in Franklin
FOX6’s Hayley Spitler is in Franklin on Saturday morning, April 18, getting a daylight look at the damage from last night’s storms.
Storm damage in Caledonia
Friday’s storms left quite the mark across southern and southeastern Wisconsin, including at L and L Farms and Greenhouse in Caledonia.
FOX6 Weather Extras
Local perspective:
Meanwhile, FOX6Now.com offers a variety of extremely useful weather tools to help you navigate the stormy season. They include the following:
FOX6 Storm Center app
FOX LOCAL Mobile app
FOX Weather app
Maps and radar
We have a host of maps and radars on the FOX6 Weather page that are updating regularly — to provide you the most accurate assessment of the weather. From a county-by-county view to the Midwest regional radar and a national view — it’s all there.
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School and business closings
When the weather gets a little dicey, schools and businesses may shut down. Monitor the latest list of closings, cancellations, and delays reported in southeast Wisconsin.
FOX6 Weather Experts in social media
The Source: Information in this post was compiled by the FOX6 Weather Experts.
How Aleksas Bieliauskas has grown in first season with Wisconsin Badgers
Wisconsin coach Greg Gard has high praise for Aleksas Bieliauskas about a month into the Lithuania native’s freshman season.
MADISON – One of Wisconsin men’s basketball’s departing transfers is headed to an SEC program with some connections to the Badgers.
Ex-UW forward Aleksas Bieliauskas has committed to South Carolina, he announced on April 17.
Bieliauskas left the Badgers after appearing in all 35 games as a freshman and making 28 starts. He averaged 4.9 points and 4.4 points in 20.2 minutes, and highlights of his freshman year included his five 3-pointers in UW’s upset over eventual national champion Michigan.
He’ll join a program with plenty of Wisconsin ties. South Carolina head coach Lamont Paris was an assistant coach at Wisconsin from 2010-17 on Bo Ryan and Greg Gard’s staffs. South Carolina assistant coach Tanner Bronson and director of video services Roman DiPasquale also are UW alumni.
Bieliauskas is the second of UW’s four departing transfers to commit to a new school. Reserve forward Jack Robison committed to North Dakota State on April 15. Starting guard John Blackwell and reserve forward Riccardo Greppi have not announced their next schools yet.
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