In yet another big win for the American people born out of the unfortunate Schumer Shutdown, the Trump Administration has, through the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) begun layoffs targeting the Swamp bureaucracy, using the shutdown to target and fire thousands upon thousands of federal workers.
As background, traditionally the federal workforce is furloughed during a shutdown, meaning that it is sent home without pay, but receives guaranteed back pay when it comes back to work, that guarantee comes thanks to a provision President Trump signed into law in his first presidential term.
However, things are different this time. While that furloughed status is true of some of the bureaucracy, others are facing being laid off, with OMB using the shutdown as an opportunity to get rid of as many Swamp bureaucrats as it can, with less congressional oversight than would normally be the case.
Those layoffs began on Friday, October 10, when OMB Director Russ Vought took to X to declare, “The RIFs have begun,” with RIFs standing for “reductions in force”. In so doing, Director Vought was following through on past promises to use a shutdown as an opportunity to start clearing out the federal workforce.
According to the White House, the layoffs were necessary when the shutdown entered its tenth day because of the “unenviable choice” foisted on it by Sen. Schumer. OMB added that the layoff notices were already going out and would be “substantial,” with a later court filing revealing that 4200 federal employees had been laid off on Friday.
The bulk of those immediate layoffs appears to have taken place at the Department of the Treasury and the Department of Health and Human Services. The Treasury saw 1446 employees laid off, and HHS saw another 1200 let go on the same day, a relatively major cut for the federal workforce.
That’s not all. In addition to those large cuts, the difference was made up by somewhat smaller cuts at five other agencies. The Department of Education saw 466 employees let go, the Department of Housing and Urban Development lost 442, the Department of Commerce got rid of 315 employees, and the Department of Energy saw 187 cut. Further, the Department of Homeland Security laid of 176.
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Defending the move and warning that more might be coming in a filing made in the District Court for the Northern District of California, the Department of Justice said, “Other Defendant agencies (in addition to some of those agencies identified above) are actively considering whether to conduct additional RIFs related to the ongoing lapse in appropriations.”
Additionally, the document added, “Other Defendant agencies have made predecisional assessments regarding offices and subdivisions that may be considered for potential RIFs based on the criteria outlined in the OPM Lapse Email. But those assessments remain under deliberation and are not final.”
And, noting that the layoffs are coming in 30 to 60 days and thus not worthy of a suit, tha DOJ filing said, “Plaintiffs fail to establish irreparable harm. Their asserted harms — which stem from future loss of federal employment — would not take place until weeks or months from now, if at all.”
Watch Trump comment on firings here: