White House: Mass Federal Worker Layoffs Have Begun
The Trump administration has begun laying off federal workers as the government shutdown enters its 10th day, White House budget director Russell Vought confirmed Friday on social media.
Vought posted: “RIFs have begun,” referring to the reduction-in-force notices that alert federal workers of pending dismissals.
The Office of Management and Budget said the layoffs are “substantial,” though details were not released.
Unions swiftly vowed to challenge the move in court.
AN UNCONVENTIONAL MOVE
It is not the normal practice to permanently lay off government employees during shutdowns. Rather, workers are typically furloughed and get back-pay upon reopening.
About 750,000 of over 2 million federal workers are currently furloughed, while others deemed essential are working without pay.
A spokesman for the Health and Human Services Department confirmed many of its “non-essential” employees received reduction-in-force notices “to close wasteful and duplicative entities, including those that are at odds with the Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again agenda.”
The layoffs defy internal warnings from senior officials that such moves could be illegal, violating rules that guide the process of federal staff cutbacks, The Washington Post reported.
BIGGER PICTURE
The layoffs are part of the Trump administration’s efforts to downsize the federal government, cutting more than 200,000 jobs already this year, with another 100,000 workers expected to leave by December.
The shutdown showdown shows no signs of ending soon. House members will remain in their districts next week, meaning the only way to end the shutdown would be for the Senate to pass the temporary funding bill — one that does not include the Affordable Care Act tax credits Democrats are demanding.
Premiums for Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace plans are expected to more than double next year — from an average of $888 to $1,906 — for 22 million enrollees if enhanced tax credits expire at the end of 2025, according to KFF, a nonpartisan health policy group.
Nearly six in ten enrollees (57%) live in districts represented by Republicans, and more than three in four live in states that President Trump won in 2024