| WASHINTON – The Trump administration announced Friday that it has begun substantial layoffs of federal workers as the government remains shut down due to the inability of Congress to reach a funding deal. “The RIFs have begun,” White House budget director Russ Vought said on X, referring to “reductions in force” for workers. While he didn’t provide details, a spokesperson for the White House Office of Management and Budget confirmed to NBC News that the layoffs have begun and said they will be “substantial.” Affected agencies include the departments of the Interior, Homeland Security, Treasury, Education, Energy, Housing and Urban Development and Health and Human Services, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency, according to an administration official. Spokespeople for several of those departments confirmed to NBC News that they were sending layoff notices on Friday but declined to enumerate how many employees were affected. Democrats pushed back, saying that a shutdown does not require President Donald Trump to fire workers or give him new powers to do so, arguing the White House is being vindictive. A DHS spokesperson said that the layoffs at the department were occurring within the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which has been a major target of Trump’s since its then-director affirmed the he lost the 2020 election to President Joe Biden. “During the last administration, CISA was focused on censorship, branding and electioneering,” the DHS spokesperson said. “This is part of getting CISA back on mission.” Federal employee unions had already sued the Trump administration over OMB’s threat to trigger mass firing of federal workers before the shutdown even began on October 1. Plaintiffs in that ongoing lawsuit filed a supplementary motion on Friday asking for an immediate temporary restraining order preventing the OMB from ordering agencies to conduct reductions in force. It cited Vought’s post on X declaring that “The RIFs have begun.” |
Layoffs begins amid US government shutdown
