WASHINGTON — The Trump administration announced Friday that it has begun “substantial” layoffs of federal workers, as the government remains shut down due to the inability of Congress to reach a funding deal.
“The RIFs have begun,” White House budget director Russ Vought said on X, referring to “reduction in force” for workers.
While he didn’t provide details, a spokesperson for the White House Office of Management and Budget confirmed to NBC News that the layoffs have begun and said they will be “substantial.”
Affected agencies include the departments of Interior, Homeland Security, Treasury, Education, Energy, Housing and Urban Development and Health and Human Services, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency, according to an administration official.
Democrats pushed back, saying that a shutdown does not require President Donald Trump to fire workers or give him new powers to do so, arguing the White House is being vindictive.
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Ahead of the shutdown, which began on Oct. 1, OMB threatened to trigger mass firings of federal workers, going beyond the temporary furloughs that typically occur during a shutdown.
The White House’s move defies the wishes of Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, the Appropriations Committee chair who oversees government funding.
“I’ve made very clear that I do not believe there should be firings of furloughed workers,” Collins told reporters on Wednesday.
And it provoked heavy pushback Friday from Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee.
“Once again, when President Trump and his self-described ‘grim reaper’ decide to ignore the pleas of congressional Republicans and conduct more mass firings, they are choosing to inflict more pain on the American people,” Murray said in a statement. “No one is making Trump and Vought hurt American workers—they just want to.”
“A shutdown does not give Trump or Vought new, special powers to cause more chaos or permanently weaken more basic services for the American people, and the simple fact is this administration has been recklessly firing—and rehiring—essential workers all year,” she added. “This is nothing new, and no one should be intimidated by these crooks.”
Vought’s announcement came one day after the Senate failed for the seventh time to pass either the Republican bill to keep the government open temporarily or the Democratic alternative that includes additional health care funding.
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