WASHINGTON - The Trump administration moved to begin laying off federal workers Friday while the government was shuttered, fulfilling threats from President Donald Trump to take advantage of the closure.

“The RIFs have begun,” White House budget director Russell Vought posted on X on Friday afternoon, using an acronym for reductions in force.

A White House official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the plans, confirmed that the RIFs were starting, and said “they will be substantial.” The White House did not provide specifics on how many employees were affected, or at which departments.

Layoffs are taking place in the Commerce, Treasury, Health and Human Services, Education, and Homeland Security departments, though that list is not exhaustive, according to multiple senior administration officials and government workers, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters.

Employees will have at least 30 days, and many will have at least 60 days, before any dismissals take effect, according to federal guidance.

Trump told reporters before the shutdown that he might fire “a lot” of people, and once the shutdown began, Vice President JD Vance and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt indicated that cuts were coming, as well.

The Washington Post previously reported that the dismissals were likely to total fewer than 16,000.

As the dismissals unfurled Friday, they appeared to mostly target offices that do work typically out of line with Trump administration priorities, including a unit within the Health and Human Services Department focused on family and community policy and an office focused on fair and equal housing within the Department of Housing and Urban Development, according to several federal employees familiar with the matter, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly. Also nixed was an Education Department division focused on improving academic achievement for K-12 students, a half-dozen staffers said.

The layoffs run counter to recent internal warnings from senior government officials that such dismissals are legally questionable. In the first days of the shutdown, officials privately counseled agencies against conducting reductions in force while the government lacks funding, because it would probably violate the law, The Post reported this month.

The officials cautioned that the Antideficiency Act forbids the government from obligating or expending any money not appropriated by Congress, which means the government cannot incur new expenses during a shutdown, when funding has lapsed. The RIF process, which is extensive and involves promising severance payments, would probably be prohibited under the act, the officials concluded.

Federal employment lawyers said the attempted dismissals are almost certainly illegal, violating rules that guide the process of federal staff cutbacks. Federal regulations say that agencies can dismiss employees for one of several reasons, including a lack of work, a reorganization or a shortage of funds.

But a shutdown-driven temporary lapse in funding does not count as a shortage of funds, the lawyers said. (Source: The Washington Post)

Story Date: October 12, 2025