Trump announces layoffs amid government shutdown despite legal questions | Politics news

The administration of US President Donald Trump announced that it has begun laying off federal employees Government shutdown It continues despite questions about Trump’s legal authority to do so.

In a brief statement on Friday, U.S. Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought said the government was moving forward with “force reduction” plans, or investment and reform frameworks, to cut spending. workforce.

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“RIFs have started,” Foote wrote in a social media post.

Citing anonymous sources in the administration, Politico reported that affected agencies include the Departments of Interior, Homeland Security, Treasury, EPA, Commerce, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services (HHS), and Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Spokespeople at several of these departments, including the Treasury Department and the Department of Health and Human Services, have since confirmed that layoff notices have been issued to employees. In its notices, the Department of Health and Human Services referred to a “Democrat-led government shutdown,” reflecting the administration’s partisan framework.

The department’s statement adds: “All HHS employees who received reduction-in-force notices have been classified as non-essential by their respective departments. HHS continues to close wasteful and duplicative entities, including those that conflict with the Trump Administration’s Make America Healthy Again agenda.”

Friday was the 10th day of lockdown, with no end in sight. Earlier today, House Speaker Mike Johnson announced that he intends to keep his chamber closed until the Senate acts on the ongoing budget resolution that House Republicans have already passed.

The Senate has voted against the House of Representatives’ resolution seven times since the beginning of the lockdown.

“We’ll be back here and back in the legislative session as soon as Senate Democrats turn the lights on again. This is the truth. This is where we are,” Johnson told reporters.

Meanwhile, Democrats said Republicans have refused to negotiate on health care priorities, including extending subsidies under the Affordable Care Act that is set to expire at the end of the year.

Trump, a Republican, has been vocal about his intention to use the shutdown to impose cuts on programs he associates with the Democratic Party.

Already, since the shutdown began on October 1, Vaught has announced nearly $18 billion in cuts to infrastructure projects in New York City, $2 billion to cuts to Chicago’s transit system, and $8 billion in climate change-related cuts, set to affect 16 largely Democratic states.

“We’re just cutting the Democrats’ platforms, I hate to break it to you, but we’re cutting the Democrats’ platforms,” the president said during a Cabinet meeting earlier this week. “We’re going to eliminate some very popular Democratic platforms that are not very popular with Republicans, frankly.”

Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers charged Trump administration of using the shutdown to continue purging government agencies and cutting services, though Trump’s legal authority to do so is disputed. During government shutdowns, employees are typically furloughed but not fired from their jobs.

On Friday, a federal court in San Francisco held a hearing to consider complaints filed by labor unions, including the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE).

Those unions said that laying off employees during the lockdown amounted to an “unlawful abuse of power.”

In a statement, AFGE President Everett Kelly argued that no other president has tried to end government employee furloughs during the shutdown.

“It is disgraceful that the Trump administration used the government shutdown as an excuse to illegally fire thousands of workers who provide vital services to communities across the country,” Kelly said, calling on Congress to break the impasse it faces.

“These workers show up every day to serve the American people, and over the past nine months they have met nothing but cruelty and ferocity from President Trump. Every American citizen should be outraged.”

However, Trump has long sought to cut what he described as “waste” and “bloating” from the federal government. He also put forward a vision for expanding presidential power.

So far, the Supreme Court has allowed the Trump administration to go ahead with layoffs while courts weigh the legality of such actions.