Thousands of federal workers have been fired since late last week, including probationary employees with the U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service in Wisconsin. The mass layoffs come as the Trump administration takes sweeping steps to slash the federal workforce,

Wisconsin has 18,000 federal workers — 11,000 of whom work for the department of Veterans Affairs. Layoffs could erode services.

Layoffs rippling through the federal government are affecting national parks and forests in Washington state, including at Mount Rainier National Park and popular trails east of Seattle. Why it matters: The staffing cuts — part of a nationwide reduction of 3,