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The White House confirmed the start of government employee layoffs on the end of the week, following through on prior threats linked to the continuing federal funding lapse, which is set to extend into its third consecutive week.

Formal Statement and Early Information

The director of the White House budget office posted on a public platform that “reductions in force have begun,” indicating the official procedure for terminating staff.

While Vought provided no details on which departments were impacted, a treasury spokesperson stated that notices had been distributed within that department. Furthermore, a DHS representative indicated that layoffs would also occur at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Also, a labor organization for federal workers confirmed that employees at the Department of Education would be affected by the staff cuts.

Union Response and Court Actions

Labor representatives warned that the layoffs would have “severe consequences” on services used by the public and pledged to contest the actions in the legal system.

“It is disgraceful that the government has exploited the government shutdown as an pretext to wrongfully terminate numerous employees who provide critical services to the public nationwide,” stated a national union president, representing the American Federation of Government Employees.

The largest labor federation in the US responded to the announcement, saying, “Labor organizations will see you in court.”

Political Standoff and Funding Battle

Congressional Democrats have declined to vote for a GOP-supported legislation to reopen the government unless it includes provisions related to health policy. After multiple unsuccessful votes, the GOP leadership in the Senate have put the chamber in recess until next Tuesday, indicating the deadlock is unlikely to be resolved before then.

During a media briefing, the GOP leader in the House, the speaker, blasted opposition lawmakers for not supporting the GOP proposal, which passed in the lower chamber on a largely partisan basis.

“This is the last paycheck that 700,000 federal workers will see until opposition leaders decide to do their job and reopen the government,” Johnson said. “Starting next week, military personnel, many of whom live on tight budgets, are going to miss a complete payment.”

Legal and Operational Constraints

Last week, labor groups filed for a temporary restraining order to block the government from carrying out any layoffs during the shutdown. Moreover, a court official ordered the administration to provide specifics on layoff plans, impacted departments, and whether any government staff had been brought back to execute staff reductions.

A report contended that a funding lapse restricts the authority of the government to conduct terminations, referencing guidance that admitted any permanent layoffs need to have been started prior to the funding expired.

Impact on Workers

The layoffs occurred on the very day that government employees got only a incomplete payment for the end of the previous month but not the start of the current month, since appropriations expired at the start of the month.

A public service advocate, the president of the non-profit Partnership for Public Service, condemned the gridlock’s impact on federal employees.

This is unjust to make government staff suffer because our leaders in the legislature and the White House have not succeeded to keep our federal operations open and operational,” Stier said. The air traffic controllers, veterans’ healthcare providers, wildland firefighters and food inspectors are not at fault for this government shutdown.”

A notable point is that lawmakers and top administration officials are still receiving salaries during the funding gap.