Government is getting bigger and reaching further into Americans’ lives

resident Biden is on track to expand the size and authority of the federal government to levels unseen since the height of former President Obama’s administration.

Mr. Biden entered office with more than 11 million individuals employed by the federal government in some capacity, according to the liberal Brookings Institution. At the time, there were 2.2 million full-time employees, 1.4 million military personnel, roughly 500,000 Postal Service workers, 5 million governmental contractors and 1.8 million people whose salaries were derived from federal grants.

That number is expected to grow since Mr. Biden and Congress passed big spending programs. The president’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, $1.2 trillion infrastructure package and $740 billion Inflation Reduction Act each included significant money for new governmental contracts and grants.