White House Announces Federal Employee Layoffs as Funding Gap Nears Third Week
Administration officials disclosed the start of federal worker layoffs on Friday, making good on prior threats in response to the continuing US government shutdown, which is now poised to extend into its third straight week.
Formal Statement and Early Information
Russell Vought posted on a public platform that “RIFs have begun,” indicating the government’s process for terminating staff.
While Vought did not specify which departments were affected, a treasury spokesperson stated that layoff warnings had been distributed within that department. Additionally, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson indicated that staff reductions would also occur at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Moreover, a labor organization representing federal workers announced that employees at the Education Department would be affected by the staff cuts.
Labor Reaction and Court Actions
Labor representatives warned that the terminations would have “devastating effects” on services used by millions of Americans and vowed to contest the actions in court.
This is shameful that the administration has exploited the government shutdown as an excuse to illegally fire thousands of workers who provide critical services to the public across the country,” said Everett Kelley, who leads the AFGE.
The AFL-CIO reacted to the news, saying, “Labor organizations will see you in court.”
Legislative Impasse and Budget Dispute
Congressional Democrats have declined to support a GOP-supported legislation to reopen the government unless it includes provisions related to health policy. Following multiple unsuccessful votes, the Senate’s Republican leaders have put the chamber in recess until the following week, meaning the deadlock is unlikely to be ended soon.
During a media briefing, the Republican House speaker, Mike Johnson, criticized Senate Democrats for not supporting the GOP proposal, which passed in the lower chamber on a largely partisan basis.
“This is the last paycheck that government employees will see until Washington Democrats decide to do their job and end the shutdown,” the speaker stated. Beginning shortly, 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 court injunction to prevent the government from implementing any reductions in force during the shutdown. Additionally, a court official directed the government to provide specifics on layoff plans, impacted departments, and whether any government staff had been brought back to carry out layoffs.
A report contended that a funding lapse limits the ability of the government to conduct terminations, referencing guidance that acknowledged any permanent layoffs need to have been initiated before the funding expired.
Consequences for Employees
These terminations occurred on the very day that government employees received only a incomplete payment covering the final days of the previous month but not the beginning of the current month, since appropriations lapsed at the start of the month.
Max Stier, the president of the non-profit Partnership for Public Service, condemned the political stalemate’s effect on government workers.
“It is wrong to make federal employees bear the burden because our leaders in Congress and the White House have not succeeded to keep our federal operations running,” Stier stated. The air traffic controllers, veterans’ healthcare providers, wildland firefighters and safety officials are not at fault for this government shutdown.”
A notable point is that members of Congress and top administration officials are continuing to be paid during the funding gap.