The White House reportedly confirmed Friday that it had begun large-scale layoffs of federal employees amid the ongoing government shutdown, marking an unprecedented escalation in President Donald Trump’s standoff with Democrats over spending and the size of government.
“The RIFs have begun,” Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought wrote on X, using the acronym for “reductions in force.” A White House official described the retrenchment as “substantial,” estimating that “thousands of federal workers” would be affected. Vought briefed the president on the layoffs by phone Friday morning.
The move underscores Trump’s determination to force a resolution to the shutdown, now entering its second week, while simultaneously advancing his long-declared goal of reducing the federal workforce. “We’ll be cutting some popular Democrat programs that aren’t popular with Republicans, frankly, because that’s the way it works,” Trump said Thursday during a cabinet meeting.
Federal agencies across Washington — including the Departments of Health and Human Services, Education, Commerce, Treasury, and Homeland Security — began notifying employees on Friday. HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon said the cuts targeted positions that were “at odds with the Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again agenda.”
The reduction in force marks the first time in modern history that an administration has carried out layoffs during a government shutdown. Previous shutdowns have led to furloughs, but not terminations. Democrats immediately denounced the move, with Sen. Patty Murray of Washington calling the action “illegal” and claiming the White House was trying to “intimidate” Congress.
Republicans, while cautious about the political fallout, said the layoffs reflected a necessary assertion of executive authority. “To their credit, the White House has now for 10 days laid off doing anything in hopes that enough Senate Democrats would come to their senses and do the right thing to fund the government,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota.
The layoffs add pressure on Capitol Hill, where Democrats have refused to support the GOP’s short-term funding bill, demanding instead new negotiations over expanded healthcare spending.
Republicans insist they will not negotiate until the House and Senate pass the stopgap measure, which would keep the government funded through Nov. 21.
Behind the scenes, the Trump administration is exploring legal avenues to ensure military paychecks continue despite the funding lapse.
According to a senior White House official, certain funds from Trump’s July tax and spending package could potentially be redirected to support active-duty personnel.
Union leaders, meanwhile, have gone to court in an effort to halt the layoffs. The American Federation of Government Employees filed a motion for a temporary restraining order in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. “It is disgraceful that the Trump administration has used the government shutdown as an excuse to illegally fire thousands of workers,” said Everett Kelley, the union’s president.
A federal judge in San Francisco ordered the administration to provide details on its reduction-in-force plans by Friday evening.
The political stakes are high. The White House has already frozen $18 billion in federal infrastructure funds for New York City and $2.1 billion for Chicago — both Democratic strongholds — signaling its willingness to use fiscal leverage to pressure opponents.
Some moderate Republicans have expressed unease with the scope of the cuts. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine warned that the layoffs “will cause harm to families in Maine and throughout our country,” even as she blamed Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for prolonging the standoff. Schumer, in turn, accused Republicans of being “willing to see thousands of Americans lose their jobs rather than sit down and negotiate.”
Still, within the administration, the mood remains defiant. Vought has become a symbol of the president’s push to pare down the bureaucracy — even appearing in a viral video depicting him as the “grim reaper” of Washington waste.
As one senior White House aide put it, “This is not about politics. It’s about discipline — and a government that finally lives within its means.”
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