White House says layoffs of federal workers have begun, with few details: NPR

The Trump administration says “substantial” layoffs of federal workers have begun, appearing to follow through on threats to reduce the size of government during the shutdown.

The announcement was first made by Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought in a statement. social media post on which said: “The RIFs have started”.

An OMB spokesperson confirmed to NPR that the reduction in force, or RIF, process was underway and was “substantial” but declined to provide details on how many people were affected.

At least one federal agency has confirmed that reduction-in-force notices are being sent to federal employees.

“HHS employees across multiple divisions have received reduction notices as a direct result of the Democratic-led government shutdown,” Andrew Nixon, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services, said shortly after Vought’s post. “All HHS employees receiving reduction-in-force notices have been designated as non-essential by their respective divisions.”

The spokesperson accused the Biden administration of creating a “bloated bureaucracy,” although HHS has already cut more workers — 20,000 workers through an earlier RIF and through voluntary resignations and retirements — than was added under the Biden administration.

It’s unclear which other agencies were affected or when the terminations would take effect.

Federal law is specific on the process that RIFs must follow, including a minimum of 60 days’ notice of their end date, or 30 days if a waiver is granted by the Office of Personnel Management.

Some agencies may need to notify unions or Congress and then draft official notices to send to affected employees. Notices must include information such as the reasons for the FRR and the effective date.

Several unions already filed a complaint on the threat of RIFs before the shutdown, arguing that “the Trump administration made unlawful threats to dismantle essential federal services and functions provided by federal personnel, departing from historical practice and violating applicable laws.”

The RIF announcement came hours before the court-set deadline for the federal government to detail the status of “any currently planned or pending RIF notices to be issued during/because of the government shutdown.”

In a statement Friday, American Federation of Government Employees national president Everett Kelley criticized the announcement.

“It is shameful that the Trump administration used the government shutdown as an excuse to illegally lay off thousands of workers who provide essential services to communities across the country,” he said.

Since the start of the lockdown, the Trump administration has repeatedly threatened to cut spending, lay off workers and not pay some furloughed employees, arguing that these cuts were the fault of Democrats who would not abandon their demands to expand health care subsidies in exchange for reopening the government.

The White House also said its decision to freeze transportation funding in Chicago and New York and cancel billions of dollars in Biden-era subsidies for energy projects was a continuation of its efforts to reduce the size and scope of the federal bureaucracy.

While the Trump administration has argued that federal government budget cuts are necessary due to insufficient funding, some experts say a shutdown does not mean layoffs are necessary.

“There is no law requiring them to lay off a substantial share of federal employees during a temporary government shutdown,” said Jessica Riedl of the center-right Manhattan Institute. “This law does not exist, and such a practice did not occur during previous closures.”

Want to share information about agency downsizing plans and other changes to the federal government? Contact this author via encrypted communications on Signal: Stephen Fowler is at stphnfwlr.25.