Trump administration begins layoffs of federal workers amid prolonged shutdown

The Trump administration announced Friday that it has begun issuing layoff notices to federal employees, marking an unprecedented escalation in the ongoing government shutdown that has now stretched beyond two weeks.

“The RIFs have begun,” Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought wrote on X (formerly Twitter), referring to reductions in force—the formal term for permanent layoffs in the federal workforce.

An OMB spokesperson later confirmed the action, saying the layoffs were “substantial,” but declined to specify how many employees were affected or which agencies faced the deepest cuts.

HHS Confirms Department-Wide Layoffs

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) was among the first to acknowledge receiving layoff orders. In a statement Friday afternoon, the department said that employees “across multiple divisions” had received notices, calling the reductions “a direct consequence of the Democrat-led shutdown.”

“All HHS employees receiving reduction-in-force notices were designated non-essential by their respective divisions,” the department said. “HHS continues to close wasteful and duplicative entities, including those that are at odds with the Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again agenda.”

The move drew immediate backlash from unions representing federal employees, which have long argued that workers should not be caught in the middle of partisan budget disputes. “America’s unions will see you in court,” the AFL-CIO wrote in a sharply worded post on X.

A Historic Departure from Past Shutdowns

While federal furloughs are common during government shutdowns, mass layoffs are not. In previous shutdowns—such as those in 2013, 2018, and 2019—workers were temporarily furloughed without pay but reinstated once the government reopened.

This time, however, the administration has signaled that many of the affected positions may never return. “If this keeps going on, it will be substantial,” President Trump said earlier this week. “And a lot of those jobs will never come back.”

On Thursday, the President reiterated that the cuts would focus on “Democrat programs.” “That’s the way it works. They wanted this,” Trump said.

Political Standoff Over Health Care Funding

The shutdown began after Congress failed to pass a spending bill, with Democrats demanding that any agreement include an extension of ObamaCare subsidies set to expire at year’s end. Without the extension, millions of Americans could face steep increases in health insurance premiums.

Republican leaders, meanwhile, have refused to negotiate on health care until Democrats agree to reopen the government.

GOP Defends White House, Calls Layoffs ‘Inevitable’

Even as some Republicans had previously urged restraint, party leaders largely defended the White House’s decision on Friday.

“I think, to their credit, the White House has, now for 10 days, laid off doing anything in hopes that enough Senate Democrats would come to their senses and do the right thing and fund the government,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) shortly before the layoffs were announced.

“But now that we’re getting to the point where people start missing paychecks, this gets real,” Thune added. “My expectation is, yes, they’re going to have to start making some decisions about where to move money around, which agencies and departments are going to be impacted. That’s what a shutdown does.”

Broader Cuts and Musk’s Earlier Involvement

The layoffs follow earlier cost-cutting measures announced this year under the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a White House initiative that had, at one point, included Elon Musk as a special government employee. Musk left the role in May after clashing with federal unions and agency heads over automation plans and workforce reductions.

Since its creation, DOGE has led efforts to downsize several agencies and eliminate what it described as “redundant or politically driven” offices.

What Happens Next

It remains unclear how far-reaching the layoffs will be or how long the shutdown might continue. Analysts warn that permanent cuts could cause significant disruptions across key services, from food inspections to Medicare processing, and deepen economic uncertainty.

Legal experts say the administration’s actions could face immediate court challenges, particularly over whether the president has the authority to impose large-scale layoffs during a shutdown.

For now, federal employees across the country are bracing for what could be the most consequential government shutdown in modern U.S. history — one that may permanently reshape the federal workforce.