The White House confirmed on Friday that layoffs of federal employees have begun as the U.S. government shutdown nears its third week. The announcement follows weeks of stalled negotiations in Congress and mounting pressure on both political parties to end the funding deadlock.
Russell Vought, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, wrote on social media that “RIFs have begun,” using the term for the government’s reduction-in-force process. A document filed with a federal court revealed that hundreds of layoffs have already taken place across multiple departments, including Commerce, Energy, Education, and Health and Human Services.
According to the filing, 315 employees at the Department of Commerce, 466 at Education, 187 at Energy, between 1,100 and 1,200 at Health and Human Services, 442 at Housing and Urban Development, 176 at Homeland Security, and 1,446 at Treasury received termination notices.
Union leaders immediately condemned the move, warning that it would have “devastating effects” on essential services for millions of Americans. Everett Kelley, president of the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents over 800,000 federal and D.C. workers, accused the Trump administration of exploiting the shutdown to fire public servants illegally.
The AFL-CIO, the country’s largest federation of labor unions, announced it would challenge the layoffs in court. “America’s unions will see you in court,” the group declared in response to the White House announcement. On the same day, the AFGE and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees filed an emergency motion seeking a temporary restraining order to block the reductions in force.
Lee Saunders, president of AFSCME, called the mass terminations “illegal” and said they would severely disrupt services that Americans rely on daily. “Federal employees should not be bargaining chips in political games,” Saunders said, emphasizing that the job losses hurt families and communities across the nation.
Republican leaders defended the administration’s actions, saying layoffs were inevitable given the ongoing shutdown. Senate Republican leader John Thune stated that the White House had “held off for ten days hoping Senate Democrats would fund the government,” adding that agencies were now being forced to decide which programs and employees would be affected.
House Speaker Mike Johnson also criticized Senate Democrats for blocking a Republican funding bill passed earlier by the House. Speaking at a Friday press conference, Johnson said, “This is the last paycheck that 700,000 federal workers will see until Democrats decide to do their job and reopen the government.” He warned that military personnel could miss paychecks next week if the impasse continues.
Democrats have refused to back the Republican proposal without key healthcare-related provisions, including extensions of Affordable Care Act tax credits and protections against funding rescissions. The Senate has been in recess since Thursday after seven failed votes, making a near-term resolution unlikely.
The partial government closure has already disrupted multiple agencies. Some employees received only partial paychecks covering late September but not the start of October. Essential workers such as air traffic controllers, veterans’ nurses, and food inspectors continue to work without pay, while others face indefinite furloughs.
Max Stier, president of the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, criticized both political parties for failing to protect government workers. “It is wrong to make federal employees suffer because leaders in Congress and the White House have failed to keep our government operational,” he said, pointing out that top officials continue to receive salaries during the shutdown.
A federal judge earlier this week ordered the Trump administration to disclose details about the layoffs, including which agencies were affected and whether employees had been recalled to process the terminations. The administration submitted its response on Friday, confirming widespread reductions.
The ongoing crisis has drawn renewed attention to limits on firing federal workers during shutdowns. A report by the Center for American Progress explained that permanent layoffs typically cannot be initiated during a lapse in appropriations under the Antideficiency Act. However, it suggested that the administration may be pursuing broader workforce cuts regardless of whether Congress passes a funding bill.
As the government enters its third week of closure, hundreds of thousands of federal employees remain in limbo. Many face financial hardship as paychecks stop and uncertainty grows. With both parties still locked in political standoff, the human cost of the shutdown continues to rise across the United States.
