WASHINGTON (AP) — With each passing day. government shutdownhundreds of thousands of federal employees are furloughed or working without pay, increasing financial strain. And now they face new uncertainties. Trump administration promised layoffs.
Little progress has been made towards the end. shutdown Now in its third week, Republicans and Democrats are doing their research and are confident their messages are resonating with voters. The fate of federal employees some pressure points That could ultimately prompt both sides to agree to a resolution to the stalemate.
“Luckily, I was able to pay my rent this month,” said furloughed federal employee Peter Farrugia. “But we do have unpaid bills this month, so we don’t really have much of a choice.”
Shutdowns are familiar to many federal workers who have endured previous gridlock, including during President Donald Trump’s first term, but the stakes are higher this time. The Republican White House is using the hiring of federal workers to pressure Democrats to ease their demands.
shutdown Started on October 1st After Democrats rejected amendments to short-term funding and demanded that the bill include deadline extensions. Federal subsidies for health insurance Pursuant to the Affordable Care Act. President Trump and other Republican leaders have said they need to reopen the government before negotiating with Democrats on health care subsidies.
Trump administration embarks on wave of layoffs
Fallujah is president of the American Federation of Public Employees, which represents Centers for Disease Control and Prevention employees who faced a wave of layoffs over the weekend. Like the other 8,000 CDC employees furloughed from the agency, he was already living paycheck to paycheck, and the partial paycheck he received Friday was his last until the government reopens.
A sign reads, “Sorry, our Washington, DC office is closed due to the federal government shutdown.” A door to the Federal Trade Commission building is seen on the sixth day of the government shutdown in Washington, Monday, Oct. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
and agency leadership In turmoil and still rattled by gunfireshutdown and new firing This means “people are scared, nervous, anxious, but they’re also just angry,” Fallujah said.
rear Russ VoughtThe director of the Office of Management and Budget said on social media last week that “RIF has begun.” reduce size Vice President J.D. Vance doubled down on the threat Sunday, saying, “The longer this goes on, the deeper the cuts will go.”
layoffs have begun across federal agencies. Labor unions have already filed a lawsuit seeking to block President Trump’s budget office’s move.
The Capitol building is seen under gray skies on the 13th day of the government shutdown, Monday, Oct. 13, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
The Office of Management and Budget said in a court filing Friday that well over 4,000 federal employees across eight departments will be laid off as a result of the government shutdown.
Jessica Sweet, a Social Security claims specialist in Albany, N.Y., and union steward for New York State AFGE Local 3343, said “I myself have a backup plan” in case I get laid off during the shutdown, “but I know most people don’t have one.”
She said the Social Security Administration is already severely understaffed due to layoffs caused earlier this year. Government Efficiency Bureaushe’s not afraid of large-scale layoffs during the shutdown.
“One thing this administration has taught me is that even if it becomes law, nothing is certain,” she said.
After receiving a partial payment from her last paycheck, Sweet began asking her local power company to stop charging her late fees because “the bills don’t wait until they’re finally paid.”
A sign that reads “Closed Due to Federal Government Shutdown” outside the National Gallery of Art in Washington on October 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
Shutdowns drag on, frustration grows
For some federal employees, this isn’t the first shutdown. The previous shutdown was prolonged during President Trump’s first term in 2019. record 34 days. But this time, federal employees are being used more directly as leverage in political battles over government funding.
The Republican administration warned last week that the following would happen: No money back guarantee The measure for federal workers during the government shutdown is a reversal of long-standing policy that affects about 750,000 furloughed employees, according to a White House memo. The move was later rescinded by President Trump, but was widely seen as a heavy-handed tactic.
Adam Pelletier, a field investigator for the National Labor Relations Board, said the agency furloughed nearly its entire staff on Oct. 1, reducing its workforce from about 1,100 to fewer than a dozen, and said he was fine with the closure continuing if it meant meaningful progress toward getting health care protections for Americans across the country. Key demands from the Democratic Party To end the impasse.
“At this point, there’s nothing being investigated at the NLRB. There’s no union election, there’s no decertification election. Basically, nothing is happening,” said Pelletier, union leader for NLRB Local 3.
As for the financial burden on workers, he said workers are unable to even find alternative employment to survive the shutdown because “the ethics office is currently understaffed to approve these requests.”
From left, House Majority Leader Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), House Minority Leader Steve Scalise (R-Louis.) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) speak to reporters as the 10th day of the government shutdown begins in Washington, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Workers are used as “political pawns”
Doreen Greenwald, president of the Treasury Employees Union, which represents workers at dozens of federal agencies, said several union members had been fired as of Friday. The Treasury Department will lose 1,446 employees, according to the filing.
Greenwald said it’s unfortunate that the Trump administration is “using federal workers as political pawns by proposing to furlough them or lay them off in an effort to pressure them in a game of political chicken.”
Transportation Security Administration personnel head to the east security checkpoint at Denver International Airport, Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zarbowski)
“This is not a political party issue. This is a real people issue,” said Everett Kelly, president of the American Federation of Government Employees.
“Prisoners worried about their next paycheck. TSA agents who come to work because they love their country even though they don’t get paid. No American should ever have to choose between serving our country and supporting their families,” Kelly said.
Kelly and other major federal union leaders rallied a bloc from the Capitol last week, pleading with Congressional leaders to find solutions and put “the people over politics.” The event was emotional at times, with union presidents explaining the difficulties facing their members and the stakes increasing daily.
Randy Irwin, president of the American Federation of Federal Employees, which represents 110,000 workers nationwide, called on both sides of Congress to find a solution. He said Trump appears to be seeking to “demean, intimidate, and antagonize hard-working federal employees.”
Chris Bartley, political program coordinator for the International Association of Firefighters, said thousands of firefighters come to work without pay out of dedication, but stressed it could have a wider impact.
“Families are left with no income,” Bartley said. “Morale and retention suffer, and public safety suffers.”
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Bedaine reported from Denver and Riddle reported from Montgomery, Alabama.
