WASHINGTON (AP) – The White House Budget Office announced Friday that mass layoffs of federal workers have begun in an effort to increase pressure on Democratic lawmakers. government shutdown Continue.
“RIF has begun,” Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought said on social media site X, referring to the troop reduction plan aimed at downsizing the federal government.
A Budget Office spokeswoman said the cuts were “significant” but declined to provide immediate details.
Just before the government shutdown begins on October 1, the White House announced that it would pursue aggressive layoff tactics, directing all federal agencies to submit their layoff plans to the Budget Office for consideration. The report said troop reductions could apply to federal programs whose funding lapses in the government shutdown, are otherwise unfunded, and are “not consistent with the president’s priorities.”
This goes beyond what happens during a typical government shutdown, where federal employees are furloughed but return to work once the shutdown ends.
Democrats have sought to call the administration’s bluff by arguing that the firings may be illegal, but appear emboldened by the fact that the White House has not yet carried out any layoffs.
But President Trump said earlier this week that he expected to have more information soon about how much federal jobs would be cut.
“I think we’ll be able to say that within four or five days if this situation continues,” he said in a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in the Oval Office on Tuesday. “If this situation continues, the burden will grow and many of these jobs will never return.”
Meanwhile, the halls of the Capitol were quiet on Friday, the 10th day of the Capitol shutdown, as both the House and Senate retreated from Washington, with both sides intent on fighting the long shutdown. Senate Republicans have repeatedly tried to appease Democratic holdouts and force them to vote in favor of stopgap legislation to restore power, but Democrats have refused, holding firm on their commitment to extending health care benefits.
There was no sign that Democratic and Republican Senate leaders were even discussing how to resolve the impasse. Instead, Senate Minority Leader John Thune continued to try to separate centrist Democrats from partisanship as the pain of the government shutdown lingers.
“It’s time for them to get some backbone,” Thune, a South Dakota Republican, said at a news conference.
