The Trump administration has begun laying off federal workers as tensions over the government shutdown escalate.
The standoff between Democrats and Republicans reached its 10th day on Friday, and White House budget director Russell Vought announced with a four-word cryptic clue that he had begun cutting jobs, just as Donald Trump had previously indicated.
“The RIFs have begun,” the administration’s resident “Grim Reaper” wrote on social media, referring to so-called reductions in force.
He offered no further details, but the Office of Management and Budget, which Vought heads, has warned that the sackings will be “substantial.”
Vought’s post on X sparked an immediate lawsuit by the American Federation of Government Employees, which has sought a temporary restraining order to block the cuts.
“These RIFS violate the Antideficiency Act and the Administrative Procedure Act, including by requiring agency employees to unlawfully work during the shutdown, unlawfully laying off employees during the shutdown, and improperly using the shutdown as the basis for the layoffs,” the lawsuit says.
Republican Senator Susan Collins, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, also slammed the move.
“I strongly oppose OMB Director Russ Vought’s attempt to permanently lay off federal workers who have been furloughed due to a completely unnecessary government shutdown caused by Senator Schumer,” the Maine Senator said in a statement.
“Regardless of whether federal employees have been working without pay or have been furloughed, their work is incredibly important to serving the public.”
Trump has threatened to fire federal workers since government funding ran out at the start of this month, and has sought to blame Democrats for not adhering to his demands.
Earlier this week, he also said he was considering denying federal employees billions of dollars in automatic back pay when the government finally reopens.
“I would say it depends on who we’re talking about,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, suggesting his actions could be politically motivated.
“For the most part, we’re going to take care of our people. But there are some people that really don’t deserve to be taken care of, and we’ll take care of them in a different way.”
The shutdown, which is the first in seven years, began on October 1, when Congress failed to pass the annual appropriations bills that fund the government for the fiscal year.
But with the Senate not scheduled to hold any votes until Tuesday and the House out of session, the shutdown is expected to last well into next week, leaving about 750,000 civil servants furloughed and all non-essential services halted.
Republicans blame Democrats for the impasse, while Democrats insist that any funding bill should include extensions to subsidies that help Americans afford health insurance under the Affordable Care Act.
“I just think they’re playing with political fire in terms of stonewalling on this issue,” Connecticut Democratic Congressman Joe Courtney told The Daily Beast.
“In Connecticut, we’re seeing projections of 300 to 400 percent increases in out-of-pocket premiums and co-payments, and the actual bills have not even hit people’s mailboxes yet.”
Cracks have also emerged within MAGA ranks, with some GOP members now openly pushing their leaders to reverse course and come to the negotiating table.
Among the most high-profile is Trump ally Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has put the blame for the shutdown squarely on Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune.
“We control the House, we control the Senate, we have the White House,” she told CNN on Thursday.
“This doesn’t have to be a shutdown. But what we have to do is we have to work for the American people, and our country is so divided right now.”
Employees impacted by the layoffs will be notified by the US Postal Service, which still operates during the government shutdown.
But more pain is likely to come, with the president warning this week that he is ready to make deep and permanent job cuts if the impasse continues, bragging that Democrats had handed him a “silver platter” to reshape the federal government.
On Thursday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy also threatened to fire “problem children” air traffic controllers who fail to show up for work during the government shutdown.
Duffy’s threat came as flight delays, caused in large part by controllers calling out sick, were reported at major hubs such as Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Chicago O’Hare International Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport.
