🔗 Share this article White House Reveals Federal Employee Job Cuts as Shutdown Approaches Third Week Administration officials confirmed the start of government employee terminations on Friday, following through on prior threats in response to the continuing federal funding lapse, which is now poised to extend into its third consecutive week. Formal Statement and Early Information Russell Vought wrote on social media that “RIFs have begun,” referring to the government’s procedure for terminating staff. Although Vought provided no details on which departments were impacted, a representative from the Treasury Department stated that notices had been issued within that agency. Additionally, a Department of Homeland Security representative indicated that layoffs would take place at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Also, a union for federal workers announced that employees at the Department of Education would be affected by the reduction in force. Labor Reaction and Court Actions Labor representatives warned that the layoffs would have “devastating effects” on services relied upon by millions of Americans and pledged to challenge the actions in the legal system. This is shameful that the administration has used the government shutdown as an pretext to wrongfully terminate numerous employees who provide critical services to communities nationwide,” said a national union president, who leads the American Federation of Government Employees. The largest labor federation in the US reacted to the announcement, saying, “Labor organizations will see you in court.” Political Standoff and Budget Dispute Lawmakers from the Democratic party have refused to support a Republican-backed bill to restore funding unless it contains provisions related to health policy. After multiple unsuccessful votes, the GOP leadership in the Senate have put the chamber in recess until next Tuesday, indicating the deadlock is not expected to be resolved before then. During a press conference, the GOP leader in the House, Mike Johnson, criticized opposition lawmakers for not supporting the GOP bill, which was approved in the lower chamber on a largely partisan basis. Federal workers’ final pay that 700,000 federal workers will see until opposition leaders decide to fulfill their duties and reopen the government,” Johnson stated. “Starting next week, American service members, many of whom live paycheck to paycheck, are going to miss a full paycheck.” Legal and Operational Constraints Previously, labor groups filed for a temporary restraining order to block the government from carrying out any layoffs during the shutdown. Additionally, a court official ordered the administration to disclose details on termination strategies, impacted departments, and if any government staff had been brought back to execute layoffs. An analysis contended that a funding lapse restricts the authority of the government to conduct terminations, referencing official advice that admitted any long-term staff cuts need to have been started prior to the shutdown began. Consequences for Employees These terminations took place on the same day that government employees received only a partial paycheck covering the final days of September but excluding the start of October, since funding expired at the start of the month. A public service advocate, the head of the advocacy group, condemned the political stalemate’s impact on federal employees. “It is wrong to make federal employees suffer because our elected officials in Congress and the administration have failed to keep our federal operations running,” the advocate said. The flight regulators, veterans’ healthcare providers, wildland firefighters and safety officials are not responsible for this funding crisis.” The irony is that members of Congress and top administration officials are still receiving salaries amid the funding gap.