‘RIFs have begun’: Trump’s budget office escalates government shutdown with mass firings of federal workers

Federal Workforce Layoffs - The White House budget office has initiated mass firings of federal workers as part of reduction-in-force plans during the ongoing government shutdown, aiming to pressure Democratic lawmakers [1][2] - Over 4,000 federal employees are expected to be dismissed, with significant impacts on the departments of Treasury (over 1,400 employees), Health and Human Services (over 1,100), and Housing and Urban Development (over 400) [2][3] - Other departments, including Commerce, Education, Energy, Homeland Security, and the Environmental Protection Agency, are also set to lay off hundreds of employees, although specific programs affected remain unclear [3] Political Reactions - Virginia senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine criticized the layoffs as a deliberate choice by the Trump administration, arguing that it inflicts unnecessary pain on hardworking Americans for political gain [20] - The Environmental Protection Agency union condemned the layoffs as an "illegal abuse of power," asserting that using federal jobs as political leverage threatens public health and safety [15][16] Education Department Impact - The Education Department is facing significant layoffs, particularly affecting employees below the director level in the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, which has already seen its workforce nearly halved [17][18] - The layoffs will impact the department's grantmaking activities, which include support for schools affected by natural disasters and funding for teacher training [18]