The Trump administration has laid off over 4,000 employees amid the ongoing government shutdown, according to a late Friday court filing from the administration.
“The RIFs have begun,” White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought said in a post on X Friday afternoon, referring to “reductions in force.”
After the government shut down on Oct. 1, the White House warned that layoffs of federal employees were “imminent,” and the number of affected employees would likely “be in the thousands.”
The layoffs mark an unprecedented step in government shutdowns, which until now have never resulted in permanent job cuts. In past shutdowns, federal workers have been furloughed.
Two unions, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and AFL-CIO, filed a lawsuit challenging the legality of the White House’s plans to carry out layoffs during the shutdown
On Friday, Oct. 10, a court filing in the case revealed which agencies were affected by the layoffs and how many employees received RIF notices.
According to the filing, lawyers for OMB said that several agencies “began issuing RIF notices related to the lapse in appropriations” on Oct. 10. Those agencies, and the estimated number of affected employees, are as follows:
- Commerce Department, 315 employees
- Education Department, 466 employees
- Energy Department, 187 employees
- Environmental Protection Agency, 20-30 employees
- Department of Health and Human Services, 1,100-1,200 employees
- Department of Housing and Urban Development, 442 employees
- Department of Homeland Security, 176 employees
- Treasury Department, 1,446 employees
“The situation involving the lapse in appropriations is fluid and rapidly evolving. As such, these numbers reflect the most current information made available to me at this time and are subject to change,” Stephen Billy, senior advisor at OMB, wrote in the filing.
According to reports, some layoffs at the Department of Health and Human Services have already been reversed. However, it is unclear how many of the terminations have been rescinded at the agency.
In a Friday statement, AFGE National President Everett Kelley slammed the mass firings.
“It is disgraceful that the Trump administration has used the government shutdown as an excuse to illegally fire thousands of workers who provide critical services to communities across the country,” Kelley said.
“In AFGE’s 93 years of existence under several presidential administrations – including during Trump’s first term – no president has ever decided to fire thousands of furloughed workers during a government shutdown,” he added. “AFGE is currently challenging President Trump’s illegal, unprecedented, abuse of power and we will not stop fighting until every reduction-in-force notice is rescinded.”
U.S. District Judge Susan Illston is holding a hearing in the case this Wednesday.