🔗 Share this article

The White House confirmed the start of government employee layoffs on Friday, making good on prior threats in response to the ongoing federal funding lapse, which is now poised to stretch into its third consecutive week.

Formal Statement and Initial Details

Russell Vought posted on social media that “RIFs have begun,” indicating the official process for terminating staff.

While Vought did not specify which departments were affected, a treasury spokesperson confirmed that layoff warnings had been distributed within that department. Furthermore, a Department of Homeland Security representative indicated that layoffs would take place at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Also, a union for federal workers announced that members at the Department of Education would be impacted by the staff cuts.

Union Response and Legal Challenges

Labor representatives warned that the layoffs would have “severe consequences” on services relied upon by millions of Americans and pledged to challenge the moves in the legal system.

This is shameful that the administration has used the funding lapse as an pretext to illegally fire thousands of workers who provide critical services to the public across the country,” stated a national union president, representing the AFGE.

The largest labor federation in the US responded to the announcement, declaring, “Labor organizations will see you in court.”

Political Standoff and Budget Dispute

Lawmakers from the Democratic party have refused to support a GOP-supported legislation to restore funding unless it contains healthcare-centered concessions. Following repeated failed attempts, the Senate’s Republican leaders have adjourned the Senate until next Tuesday, indicating the deadlock is unlikely to be ended before then.

At a press conference, the GOP leader in the House, Mike Johnson, blasted opposition lawmakers for not supporting the Republican proposal, which was approved in the lower chamber on a largely partisan basis.

“This is the last paycheck that government employees will see until opposition leaders decide to do their job and reopen the government,” Johnson said. “Starting next week, American service members, many of whom live paycheck to paycheck, are going to miss a full paycheck.”

Judicial and Practical Limits

Last week, unions filed for a temporary restraining order to prevent the government from carrying out any layoffs during the funding gap. Additionally, a court official directed the administration to provide specifics on termination strategies, affected agencies, and if any government staff had been brought back to execute layoffs.

A report contended that a government shutdown limits the authority of the administration to conduct terminations, referencing guidance that admitted any long-term staff cuts need to have been started before the shutdown began.

Consequences for Employees

The layoffs took place on the very day that government employees received only a partial paycheck for the end of September but not the start of October, since funding expired at the beginning of the month.

Max Stier, the president of the advocacy group, condemned the gridlock’s impact on federal employees.

“It is wrong to make federal employees bear the burden because our leaders in the legislature and the White House have failed to keep our federal operations running,” Stier said. “Our air traffic controllers, veterans’ healthcare providers, wildland firefighters and safety officials are not responsible for this funding crisis.”

A notable point is that members of Congress and senior White House leaders are continuing to be paid during the funding gap.