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President Donald Trump on Friday followed through on his long-standing threat to fire federal employees during the ongoing government shutdown, launching a sweeping series of Federal Worker layoffs that mark a dramatic shift in how Washington handles budget impasses.

White House Confirms 'Reductions in Force' Across Multiple Agencies

“The RIFs have begun,” Russell Vought, Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), announced in a post on X, referring to “reductions in force” across federal departments. While the OMB declined to specify the total number of workers affected, a spokesperson described the layoffs as “substantial.”

According to USA TODAY, the dismissals stretch across key federal departments, including Homeland Security (DHS), Health and Human Services (HHS), Education, and Treasury. A DHS representative confirmed that cuts are impacting the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) — which protects the nation’s IT networks from cyberattacks.
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At HHS, spokesman Andrew Nixon said employees “across multiple divisions have received reduction-in-force notices.” Similarly, a Treasury official verified that RIF notices were issued but declined to disclose how many employees were let go.

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Unions Sue Trump Over Federal Worker Layoffs

The move immediately sparked outrage among federal unions. The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) had already filed a lawsuit on September 30, challenging Trump’s repeated threats to fire federal workers during the shutdown.

“It is disgraceful that the Trump administration has used the government shutdown as an excuse to illegally fire thousands of workers who provide critical services to communities across the country,” said AFGE National President Everett Kelley in a statement.

Shortly after Vought’s post, union attorneys filed an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order to stop the layoffs, arguing that the move violates workers’ rights to back pay and undermines federal law.

A Break from Past Shutdown Practices

Historically, nonessential workers are furloughed, not fired, during a government shutdown — their pay paused but later restored when operations resume. This year’s shutdown, which began on October 1, has already furloughed about 750,000 federal employees, but Trump’s decision to escalate to full layoffs breaks sharply from precedent.

The Trump administration has already terminated tens of thousands of federal workers under its Department of Government Efficiency, a controversial initiative aimed at cutting the federal workforce and streamlining operations.

Political Fallout and the Fight Over Health Care

Trump has argued the layoffs are necessary to preserve funding for “essential services,” while critics claim the firings are politically motivated. The president has also tied the shutdown’s resolution to ongoing health care negotiations with Democrats.

Democrats insist that reversing Medicaid cuts and extending expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies must be part of any funding deal. Republicans, however, refuse to discuss health care until the shutdown ends.

Despite the standoff, Trump suggested he might compromise on health insurance subsidies — signaling a potential breakthrough in talks. Still, the Senate’s latest bill to reopen the government has been blocked eight times by Democrats.

Trump Doubles Down

At a recent press conference, Trump further inflamed tensions by suggesting that some furloughed employees “don’t deserve” back pay. He also warned that he would cut popular Democrat-backed programs if the opposition continues to resist his proposals.

“We're going to be cutting some very popular Democrat programs that aren't popular with Republicans,” Trump said on October 9. “They wanted to do this, so we’ll give them a little taste of their own medicine.”

For more updates, see 

Trump says some furloughed federal workers ‘don’t deserve’ back pay

Trump says he's open to extending Obamacare subsidies to end shutdown

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