The Trump administration begins firing workers who were laid off due to the government shutdown

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The Trump administration has escalated its political battle with Democrats by firing federal employees in response to the government shutdown that began last week.

Donald Trump’s budget director, Russell Vought, wrote on Friday that “the RIFs have begun,” referring to the “reductions in force” within federal agencies that the administration has been threatening in recent days.

The White House did not specify how many federal employees would be fired. But agencies, including the Treasury and Health departments, were affected, according to administration officials.

Mass dismissals will significantly increase political and economic risks Government shutdown. Typically, in shutdowns, federal workers deemed nonessential are furloughed and lost wages are reimbursed when funding resumes.

But this year, Trump is moving toward permanently firing federal employees and has threatened not to pay furloughed employees, amplifying the shutdown’s damage to government workers and the economies in which they work.

Vaught, who co-authored the 2025 Project Statement for Republican Control of the White House, is an ardent advocate for shrinking and reshaping the federal government.

Lee Saunders, president of AFSCME, a large union representing government workers, called the mass firings “illegal” and said their impact would be “devastating.”

“Whether it’s food inspectors, public safety workers, or the countless other public servants who keep America going, federal employees should not be a bargaining chip in this administration’s political games,” Saunders said. “We will pursue every legal avenue available to stop this administration’s unlawful attacks on the freedoms and jobs of public service workers.”

Democrats quickly condemned the impeachments. Chuck Schumer, the party’s leader in the Senate, accused President Donald Trump of causing “deliberate chaos” in America.

“Let’s be honest: No one is forcing Trump and Voight to do this. They don’t have to do it; they want to do it,” he said. “They cruelly choose to hurt people — the workers who protect our country, inspect our food, and respond when disasters strike.”

Some Republicans also seemed uncomfortable with the move. Susan Collins, a Republican senator from Maine, said she “strongly opposes” Vaught’s announcement, saying it could “cause harm to families” in her state and across the country.

The shutdown began on October 1 when Democrats decided He refused to return A stop-gap bill proposed by Republicans will keep the government funded until late November.

Democrats said they would not support the measure unless Republicans agreed to negotiate an extension of health insurance subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year, threatening to increase the cost of medical coverage for millions of Americans.

The White House is betting that Democrats will eventually concede, but the vast majority of opposition lawmakers have done so He stayed united In resisting Trump’s demands.

Some Republicans, like Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, have begun sounding alarm bells about their party’s position, saying a solution must be found for expired health care subsidies.

“Democrats created this problem in 2010, made it worse in 2021, and Republicans never solved it,” Greene wrote on X on Friday.

Earlier this week, Schumer told Punchbowl News that “every day gets better for us” in the shutdown battle. “We knew health care was going to be the focal point on September 30 and we prepared for it… Their whole theory was: Threat us, trick us, and we’ll give up in a day or two.”

Republicans exploited these statements as a sign of misplaced confidence. “They are choosing politics over the paychecks of the American working men and women who protect our nation,” John Barrasso, Republican senator from Wyoming, said in response to Schumer’s comments.

“This weakness is what characterizes the Democratic Party today. They are extremist, extremist, dangerous, frightening and out of touch with reality.”