Firings of federal workers underway as government shutdown continues, Trump budget chief announces

By Annie Grayer, Tami Luhby, Alayna Treene, CNN

(CNN) — The Trump administration has begun firing federal workers, the White House’s budget chief announced Friday, as Republicans look to maximize pressure on the Democratic Party more than a week into the government shutdown.

“The RIFs have begun,” Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought posted on X, announcing the the government-wide reductions in force that have been anticipated since federal funding lapsed on October 1.

It was not immediately clear how many federal workers had received RIF – or reduction in force – notices, but an OMB spokesperson said the layoffs would be “substantial.”

“It will be substantial, and we regret that the Democrats have shut down the government and forced workers to be put in this position,” the official said.

While the White House has repeatedly placed blame on congressional Democrats for not reopening the government, it is initiating layoffs during this shutdown by choice – administrations are not required to carry out firings when government funding lapses. The layoffs are separate from the furloughs that always occur when government funding runs out.

The White House declined to share specifics of the layoffs, including which agencies and workers are included in them.

The Trump administration had initially promised to swiftly roll out mass layoffs of federal workers at the start of the government’s lapse in funding, but – as CNN reported – then appeared to shift strategy, holding off on doing so a bit longer as an increasing number of Republican lawmakers and Trump administration officials acknowledged the potential political perils of the move.

CNN has reached out to federal employee unions for comment.

The American Federation of Government Employees, along with another union representing federal workers, filed on a lawsuit in a California federal court seeking to stop the Trump administration from initiating the mass layoffs, calling them illegal.

Last week, the unions asked the judge for a temporary restraining order to block the administration from carrying out its threat.

District Court Judge Susan Illston has not ruled on the request but ordered OMB to provide the status of RIF notices that are planned or in progress by 6 p.m. ET Friday. The judge also asked for information on which agencies would issue layoff notices and how many employees would receive them.

Max Stier, CEO of the Partnership for Public Service, told CNN that the shutdown does not give the administration additional power to downsize the federal workforce.

“There is no extra legal authority on their part to conduct RIFs on the basis of a shutdown,” he said.

This story is breaking and will be updated.

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