As he carried out his pledge to reduce the federal workforce during the government shutdown, President Donald Trump on Friday blamed Democrats for his decision to terminate thousands of employees across the U.S. government.
The magnitude of the layoffs was not immediately obvious, but officials claimed that job cuts were underway at the Treasury Department, the U.S. health agency, the Internal Revenue Service, and the departments of education, commerce, and Homeland Security’s cybersecurity section.
Trump launched a downsizing push earlier this year that has already resulted in the termination of about 300,000 federal civilian employees this year.
During an event in the Oval Office, Trump told reporters, “They started this thing,” and referred to the job losses as “Democrat-oriented.”
Despite having majorities in both houses of Congress, Trump’s Republicans require Democratic votes in the US Senate to pass any legislation that would provide funding for the government.
Democrats are contending that many of the 24 million Americans who receive coverage under the Affordable Care Act will see a sharp rise in health expenditures; therefore, they are holding out for an extension of health insurance subsidies.
During the shutdown dispute, which entered its tenth day on Friday, Trump has threatened to fire federal employees on multiple occasions and has indicated that his administration will target Democratic-led government agencies.
Additionally, Trump has directed that at least $28 billion in infrastructure funding for states like New York, California, and Illinois—all of which have substantial populations of Democratic voters and administration detractors—be frozen.
In a court filing, the Justice Department claimed that over 4,200 federal workers had received warnings of layoffs at seven departments, including at least 1,100 at the Department of Health and Human Services and over 1,400 at the Treasury Department.
Democrats claim that they will not relent.
Democrats declared that they would not give in to Trump’s pressure.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer stated, “Until Republicans get serious, they own this – every job lost, every family hurt, every service gutted is because of their decisions.”
Federal workers’ labor organizations have filed a lawsuit to halt the layoffs, arguing that they would be unlawful during a shutdown.
In a court filing on Friday, the administration stated that the unions’ motion should be turned down because they are not legally entitled to sue over federal employment choices.
The case is scheduled to be heard by a federal judge on October 15.
The Senate Appropriations Committee chair, Senator Susan Collins, was among the Republicans who voiced their opposition to the layoffs, saying in a statement that “federal employees’ work is incredibly important to serving the public, regardless of whether they have been working without pay or have been furloughed.”
The law requires the government to give workers 60 days’ notice before any layoffs, though that can be shortened to 30 days.
AIMING FOR FURLOUGHED EMPLOYEES
Russell Vought, the White House budget director, posted on social media earlier in the day that “The RIFs had begun,” alluding to purported force reductions.
The budget office representative described the cuts as “substantial,” but she did not provide any additional information.
On the same day that the statement was made, many government employees were scheduled to receive reduced paychecks that did not include any compensation for the days since the closure started.
While some have been ordered to continue working without compensation, hundreds of thousands have been told not to report to work.
If the shutdown is not addressed by October 15, the country’s 2 million active-duty troops will not receive their payment at all.
Andrew Nixon, the director of communications for the Department of Health and Human Services, announced that layoff notices had been sent to staff members in various departments.
The expansive agency employs 78,000 people who carry out a variety of health-related tasks, including funding medical research and keeping an eye on disease outbreaks.
Nixon stated that agency employees who had been told not to work were the subject of the layoffs, but he gave no other information. Approximately 41% of agency employees are on furlough.
The Treasury Department has also started layoffs, a spokeswoman who asked to remain anonymous said.
In a court filing, Thomas Huddleston, a labor union representative with the American Federation of Government Employees, claimed to have received information that the Treasury was drafting 1,300 letters of layoff.
The Internal Revenue Service, which collects taxes and has been the focus of significant employment cuts this year, may be affected by those layoffs.
On Wednesday, almost 46% of the 78,000 workers at the agency were placed on furlough.
According to the union, layoffs have also started at the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Officials also verified layoffs at the Commerce Department, which manages economic data reports, weather forecasts, and other functions, as well as at the Education Department, which Trump has promised to shut down entirely.
Layoffs at the Department of Energy, the Department of the Interior, and the Environmental Protection Agency were reported by other media outlets.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which Trump criticized after the 2020 election when its director claimed there was no proof voting systems were affected, was laying off employees, the Department of Homeland Security stated.
Trump makes up the story that voter fraud caused him to lose the election to Democrat Joe Biden.
According to a person with knowledge of the matter, neither the Federal Aviation Administration nor the Department of Transportation is impacted.
