The IMF's intervention represents a rare direct rebuke from the international financial institution, which typically delivers criticism through carefully worded annual assessments rather than pointed public statements.

The fund's concerns centre on the administration's aggressive push to shrink the federal workforce, which the IMF says risks disrupting essential services that underpin economic stability — from regulatory oversight to data collection agencies that produce the economic statistics markets rely on.

The warning comes as the administration continues its partnership with the Department of Government Efficiency initiative to slash federal spending and headcount.