The Trump administration has ignited a storm of controversy after beginning layoffs of federal employees amid the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, now in its tenth day — a move that critics say is both unprecedented and potentially illegal.
In a brief statement on Friday, Russell Vought, Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), confirmed that the administration had commenced “reduction-in-force” (RIF) actions — formal layoffs of government workers.
“RIFs have begun,” Vought wrote on social media, signaling the administration’s intention to downsize parts of the federal workforce during the funding impasse.
According to reports by Politico and Al Jazeera, the layoffs are affecting several key agencies, including the Departments of the Interior, Homeland Security, Treasury, Commerce, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services (HHS), and Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Officials at some of these agencies confirmed that termination notices had already been distributed. In a statement, the HHS blamed the so-called “Democrat-led shutdown”, claiming the cuts were aligned with President Trump’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda.
“All HHS employees receiving reduction-in-force notices were designated non-essential,” the department said. “We continue to eliminate wasteful and duplicative entities inconsistent with the administration’s goals.”
Political deadlock deepens
The layoffs come as Washington remains gridlocked over a continuing resolution to fund the government.
House Speaker Mike Johnson announced that the House would remain adjourned until the Senate passes a Republican-backed funding bill.
“We’ll return to work as soon as Senate Democrats turn the lights back on,” Johnson said.
The Senate, controlled by Democrats, has rejected the House proposal seven times, citing Republican refusal to negotiate over key healthcare provisions — including the renewal of Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies due to expire soon.
President Donald Trump has openly tied the shutdown to his broader effort to cut federal programs associated with the Democratic Party, boasting that the administration’s recent funding cuts target what he calls “Democrat programmes.”
Since October 1, the OMB has announced funding reductions including $18 billion for New York infrastructure, $2 billion for Chicago transportation, and $8 billion for climate initiatives — all primarily in Democrat-leaning states.
“We’re only cutting Democrat programmes,” Trump said earlier this week. “We’re not touching Republican ones.”
Unions and legal experts push back
The decision has drawn fierce criticism from federal employee unions and legal experts, who argue that terminating workers during a shutdown violates federal law.
Traditionally, employees are furloughed — not fired — during funding lapses.
On Friday, a federal court in San Francisco heard arguments in a lawsuit filed by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and other unions, alleging that the administration’s move represents an “unlawful abuse of executive power.”
AFGE President Everett Kelley condemned the layoffs as “disgraceful” and “an attack on public servants.”
“It is disgraceful that the Trump administration is using the shutdown to illegally fire thousands of workers who serve the American people,” Kelley said. “Every American should be outraged.”
Despite the backlash, the U.S. Supreme Court has permitted the administration to proceed with the layoffs temporarily, pending ongoing lower court deliberations.
Reshaping federal power
President Trump has long pledged to shrink the federal bureaucracy and expand presidential authority, arguing that government agencies have become bloated and inefficient.
The mass layoffs — the first of their kind during a federal shutdown — mark a historic and contentious turning point in U.S. governance.
As the shutdown drags on and legal battles intensify, tens of thousands of federal workers now face permanent job losses, deepening political divisions and public unease over the direction of the Trump administration.
