In response to the prolonged government shutdown caused by Congress’s failure to agree on funding, the Trump administration has initiated the dismissal of thousands of federal employees. This move aims to increase pressure on Democratic lawmakers.
Russell Vought, Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, confirmed the commencement of these layoffs-referred to as “reductions in force” (RIFs)-in a message posted on X.
Further details emerged on Friday, revealing that seven federal agencies have begun terminating over 4,000 workers. A spokesperson from Vought’s office described the layoffs as significant in both scale and impact.
President Trump has consistently indicated his intention to leverage the shutdown to shrink the size of the federal workforce, a long-standing objective of his administration.
Late Friday, a senior official from the administration told NBC News that the current RIF figures represent a specific moment in time, as documented in a recent court filing, and that the situation is still evolving.
According to a Justice Department court submission responding to a lawsuit filed by the American Federation of Government Employees and the AFL-CIO, the layoffs span seven departments. The Treasury Department and the Department of Health and Human Services have been the most affected, together accounting for more than half of the job cuts.
Other impacted agencies include the Departments of Homeland Security, Education, Energy, Housing and Urban Development, and the Environmental Protection Agency.
On Friday alone, approximately 315 employees at the Commerce Department, 466 at Education, and 187 at Energy received layoff notices.
Health and Human Services saw between 1,100 and 1,200 employees notified, while 176 workers at Homeland Security and 1,446 at Treasury were also informed of impending layoffs.
Additionally, the EPA issued general notices to around 20 to 30 employees, indicating potential future reductions.
Earlier, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, part of the Commerce Department, had sent layoff notices to 126 staff members when the shutdown began on October 1.
Democratic leaders have condemned the firings, arguing that the shutdown does not grant President Trump the authority to dismiss federal workers or expand his powers in this manner. They accuse the administration of acting out of spite.
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security stated that the layoffs primarily affect the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), which has been a focal point for the administration since its former director publicly acknowledged President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory. The spokesperson remarked, “Under the previous administration, CISA was involved in censorship, political messaging, and election-related activities. This effort is about refocusing CISA on its core mission.”
At Health and Human Services, spokesman Andrew Nixon described the reductions as targeting an “overgrown bureaucracy” established during the Biden administration. He added, “HHS is committed to eliminating wasteful and redundant programs, including those that conflict with the Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again initiative.”
Lee Saunders, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), denounced the mass layoffs as unlawful and harmful to families. He pledged to “explore every legal option to halt” the administration’s actions.
Federal employee unions had already initiated legal action against the Trump administration over the Office of Management and Budget’s threat to implement widespread federal worker dismissals prior to the shutdown’s start on October 1. On Friday, plaintiffs in this ongoing case filed an additional motion seeking an immediate temporary restraining order to prevent the OMB from directing agencies to carry out reductions in force, citing Vought’s public statement that “The RIFs have begun.”
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