House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Democrats are launching a probe into federal agencies’ plans for reductions in force (RIFs), warning agency leaders that laying federal employees off during a government shutdown would be unlawful.
After threats by President Donald Trump and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to conduct layoffs – also known as RIFs – after blaming Democrats for the government shutdown that began last week, 20 Democrat lawmakers have written to the heads of 24 agencies asking for details on proposed RIF plans, notices, and related communications.
“A government shutdown does not empower an administration to ignore the law,” wrote Democrats. “In accordance with our constitutional duty to oversee the Executive Branch, we demand that you provide proof of your agency’s compliance with all laws and regulations regarding employee rights during any RIF process.”
“The Trump Administration and Republicans in Congress are vindictively threatening to destroy and disrupt vital services for the American people and blaming the current government shutdown on Democrats to pursue their long-term partisan agenda,” lawmakers continued. “President Trump has falsely suggested that a lapse in appropriations gives him unique or exceptional authorities to pursue this objective.”
Specifically, Democrats noted that conducting RIFs during a federal shutdown would violate federal laws that govern RIFs and furloughs under the Antideficiency Act which halts unfunded federal spending, limiting layoffs during shutdowns. Lawmakers also said that federal law gives agencies no standalone authority to conduct RIFs.
If the Trump administration carries out layoffs, it would be the first time that RIFs have been carried out during a government shutdown. Historically, federal workers have been furloughed.
Lawmakers warned in their letter that “the record is extremely clear: any RIF or purge of federal workers must be understood as part of a longstanding attempt by extremists within the administration to destroy essential services, and not as a necessary response to a lapse in appropriations.”
The letter also pointed to a memo from the administration that the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) published two days prior to the start of the shutdown stating that agencies could issue RIF notices during a closure and that OMB authorized agencies to keep certain employees working during the shutdown even though normal functions were paused.
“These claims demonstrate the lack of seriousness with which this Administration has treated the federal budget process, the important work conducted by federal agencies on behalf of the American people, and the rights of federal employees throughout President Trump’s nearly nine months in office this term,” lawmakers wrote.
Messages appearing on federal agency websites blaming Democrats for the federal shutdown, and out-of-office email replies using partisan language to similarly blame Democrats for the shutdown have possibly opened “up federal employees to charges of violating federal law themselves,” lawmakers added.
A lawsuit filed by a union representing the Department of Education on Friday said that those messages were modified to say that “unfortunately, Democrat Senators are blocking passage of H.R. 5371 in the Senate which has led to a lapse in appropriations. Due to the lapse in appropriations, I am currently in furlough status. I will respond to emails once government functions resume.”
“Oversight Democrats are investigating these violations of federal law and will hold wrongdoing accountable,” lawmakers told agency heads in their letter.
The current federal shutdown is the fourth longest closure since 1981 and the longest in history where a single political party held the presidency and both the House and Senate.