🔗 Share this article

The White House confirmed the initiation of government employee terminations on Friday, following through on earlier warnings in response to the continuing federal funding lapse, which is set to extend into its third straight week.

Official Announcement and Initial Details

The director of the White House budget office posted on a public platform that “reductions in force have begun,” referring to the official process for terminating staff.

Although Vought did not specify which departments were impacted, a representative from the Treasury Department confirmed that layoff warnings had been issued within that agency. Additionally, a DHS representative noted that layoffs would also occur at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Moreover, a union for federal workers announced that employees at the Education Department would be affected by the staff cuts.

Labor Reaction and Legal Challenges

Labor representatives cautions that the terminations would have “devastating effects” on services relied upon by millions of Americans and pledged to challenge the actions in the legal system.

This is shameful that the administration has exploited the government shutdown as an pretext to illegally fire thousands of workers who provide essential functions to the public nationwide,” said a national union president, representing the American Federation of Government Employees.

The AFL-CIO responded to the news, declaring, “Labor organizations will see you in court.”

Political Standoff and Budget Dispute

Congressional Democrats have declined to vote for a GOP-supported bill to reopen the government unless it includes provisions related to health policy. After multiple unsuccessful votes, the GOP leadership in the Senate have put the chamber in recess until the following week, indicating the deadlock is unlikely to be resolved soon.

At a press conference, the GOP leader in the House, Mike Johnson, blasted opposition lawmakers for rejecting the Republican proposal, which passed in the lower chamber on a largely partisan basis.

Federal workers’ final pay that 700,000 federal workers will see until opposition leaders decide to do their job and reopen the government,” Johnson said. “Starting next week, military personnel, many of whom live paycheck to paycheck, are going to miss a full paycheck.”

Judicial and Practical Limits

Previously, unions filed for a temporary restraining order to block the administration from carrying out any reductions in force during the funding gap. Additionally, a federal judge ordered the administration to disclose details on termination strategies, impacted departments, and if any federal employees had been recalled to carry out staff reductions.

An analysis argued that a government shutdown limits the authority of the government to conduct terminations, citing guidance that acknowledged any permanent layoffs need to have been started before the funding expired.

Consequences for Employees

The layoffs took place on the very day that federal workers received only a incomplete payment covering the end of the previous month but not the beginning of October, since appropriations expired at the start of the period.

A public service advocate, the head of the advocacy group, criticized the political stalemate’s effect on federal employees.

This is unjust to make federal employees suffer because our elected officials in Congress and the White House have not succeeded to keep our federal operations running,” the advocate stated. “Our flight regulators, veterans’ healthcare providers, smoke jumpers and safety officials are not at fault for this government shutdown.”

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