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During the government shutdown, the Trump administration began laying off federal workers, calling the number “substantial” and characterizing the layoffs as “RIFs” (reductions in force). The White House budget director confirmed the layoffs via social media. The Health Department confirmed layoff notices among furloughed workers. Trump has threatened to fire federal workers during the shutdown and has suggested targeting “Democrat agencies.” The downsizing campaign aims to eliminate 300,000 federal civilian jobs this year. Labor unions are suing to stop the layoffs, arguing they are illegal during a shutdown. A federal judge will hear the case on October 16.
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The U.S. health agency confirmed that some of its workers have received layoff notices.
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“The RIFs have begun,” White House budget director Russell Vought wrote on social media, referring to so-called reductions in force. He offered no other details.
He has ordered the freezing of at least $28 billion in infrastructure funds for New York, California and Illinois — all home to sizable Democratic voters and critics of the administration.
Trump’s Republicans hold majorities in both chambers of Congress, but need at least seven Democratic votes to pass a stopgap funding measure in the Senate, where Democrats are holding out for an extension of subsidies for Americans who buy health insurance through a government program.
Employees across multiple divisions of the Department of Health and Human Services have received layoff notices, communications director Andrew Nixon said. The 78,000 workers at the sprawling agency manage major health insurance programs, monitor disease outbreaks, fund medical research, and perform a wide range of other health-related duties.
Nixon said the layoffs were targeted at those who had been furloughed but did not provide further details.
“HHS continues to close wasteful and duplicative entities, including those that are at odds with the Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again agenda,” he said.
Other government agencies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Roughly 300,000 federal civilian workers will leave their jobs this year due to a downsizing campaign initiated by Trump.
Labor unions representing federal workers have sued to stop him, saying any layoffs during a shutdown would be illegal.
A federal judge is due to hear the case on October 16.
The government is required by law to give workers 60 days’ notice ahead of any layoffs, though that can be shortened to 30 days.
Reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein, Courtney Rozen, Daniel Wiessner, Katharine Jackson and Susan Heavey; writing by Andy Sullivan; editing by Scott Malone and Alistair Bell
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
