Trump Administration Begins Federal Layoffs Amid Ongoing Shutdown

Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought confirmed the move on X, writing, “The RIFs have begun,” using the acronym for Reductions in Force. An OMB spokesperson later said the cuts “are substantial” and span multiple agencies, including the Treasury, Health and Human Services, Commerce, Education, Energy, EPA, Homeland Security, HUD, and Interior.

President Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that the number of layoffs would “be a lot,” adding that they would “be Democrat-oriented” — suggesting an effort to eliminate programs his administration views as politically aligned with Democrats.

Unlike furloughs, which are temporary and end once a shutdown is resolved, Reductions in Force are permanent job eliminations. Such actions during a shutdown are extraordinary — and have already triggered legal and political backlash.

Legal Challenges and Political Fallout

Federal employee unions, including the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and AFL-CIO, immediately announced plans to challenge the layoffs in court. AFGE, which represents 820,000 government workers, wrote on X: “The lawsuit has been filed.”

Union leaders denounced the layoffs as unlawful and politically motivated. Lee Saunders, president of AFSCME, said the firings “will have devastating effects on the services millions of Americans rely on every day,” citing the potential loss of food inspectors, safety workers, and other public service roles.

Democrats in Congress echoed those concerns. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer accused the administration of creating “deliberate chaos,” saying, “Russell Vought just fired thousands of Americans with a tweet.” Schumer added that Republicans were “choosing to hurt workers rather than negotiate.”

Not all Republicans backed the move. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, said she “strongly opposes” the layoffs, calling them “arbitrary” and damaging to agency operations.

Administration’s Defense

Officials defended the cuts as part of a broader effort to streamline what they described as an overgrown bureaucracy. An HHS spokesperson, Andrew Nixon, said the agency’s workforce had expanded “by 17% under the Biden administration” and that the reductions would eliminate “wasteful and duplicative entities” inconsistent with the Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again agenda.

The administration has also frozen billions in funding for projects in states led by Democrats, moves that Vought and others have promoted as cost-cutting measures to “protect taxpayers.”

Shutdown Stalemate Continues

The layoffs add new urgency to a funding impasse that has paralyzed the federal government. The Senate has failed seven times to pass competing stopgap spending measures, as Democrats demand that any deal include an extension of enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits. Republicans, who control both chambers, cannot pass a bill without at least some Democratic support due to the Senate’s 60-vote threshold.

National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett earlier warned the administration could “start taking sharp measures” if the shutdown dragged on, adding that “any government worker who loses their job” would have Democrats to blame.

But the unprecedented step of permanent layoffs during a funding lapse is likely to intensify public scrutiny. With the Senate not scheduled to reconvene until Tuesday, the shutdown — and now the layoffs — appear set to continue into next week, extending uncertainty for hundreds of thousands of federal workers and the agencies that depend on them.