On Friday, October 10, 2025, the Trump administration initiated substantial layoffs of federal workers, marking a dramatic escalation in the ongoing government shutdown that entered its tenth day. The move, which breaks with decades of precedent, was confirmed by Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought, who announced on social platform X, “The RIFs have begun,” using the acronym for reductions in force. According to multiple sources including Axios, CNBC, and Government Executive, the layoffs are being implemented across several key agencies, with the White House describing the cuts as both “substantial” and “an opportunity.”
While government shutdowns have previously resulted in furloughs—temporary, unpaid leave for federal employees—permanent layoffs are a new and controversial development. Historically, furloughed workers have been recalled and, since a law signed during Trump’s first term, were guaranteed back pay. This time, the administration has threatened to circumvent even that guarantee, raising the stakes for hundreds of thousands of federal workers and their families.
The OMB declined to specify the total number of workers affected or provide a complete list of agencies involved. However, officials confirmed that the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Department of Education, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Treasury Department have all begun issuing layoff notices. The layoffs are expected to impact thousands, with some agencies such as HHS and the IRS already having undergone significant workforce reductions earlier in the year.
At HHS, spokesman Andrew Nixon stated, “HHS employees across multiple divisions have received reduction-in-force notices as a direct consequence of the Democrat-led government shutdown.” Nixon added that all employees receiving RIF notices were designated non-essential and that the department continues to close “wasteful and duplicative entities, including those that are at odds with the Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again agenda.” According to Government Executive, HHS has already laid off 10,000 employees this year, with the latest round expected to affect around 1,000 more, focusing on agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Health Resources and Services Administration.
The Department of Homeland Security initiated RIFs at its Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, with sources describing the cuts as “major.” The Department of Housing and Urban Development began layoffs in its Office of Community Planning and Development and regional offices of its Office of Federal Housing and Equal Opportunity. The Treasury Department is believed to have issued 1,300 layoff notices, with the IRS—already down more than 25,000 employees—also affected.
The EPA confirmed layoffs as well, with a spokesperson stating that the decision was made “pursuant to the president’s priority programs, projects and activities, and anticipated availability of funding.” The spokesperson argued that the move would “directly benefit the American people and better advance the agency’s core mission of protecting human health and the environment.” Critics, such as Tim Whitehouse of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, called the EPA layoffs “illegal and morally corrupt,” warning of trauma to both the workforce and the public who rely on the agency’s services.
President Trump has repeatedly framed the layoffs as a necessary response to what he calls “Democrat programs” and a means to cut government waste. On October 9, he stated, “We’ll be cutting very popular Democrat programs that aren’t popular with Republicans.” Just days earlier, he warned, “If this keeps going on, it will be substantial. And a lot of those jobs will never come back.” According to CNBC, the administration has frozen and cut billions in federal funding for projects in states and cities controlled by Democratic officials since the shutdown began.
Unions representing federal workers have responded swiftly and forcefully. The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), which represents approximately 800,000 federal workers, filed a lawsuit to halt the layoffs and demanded that every notice be rescinded. “Federal workers are tired of being used as pawns for the political and personal gains of the elected and un-elected leaders. It’s time for Congress to do their jobs and negotiate an end to this shutdown immediately,” the union said in a statement. The AFL-CIO echoed this sentiment, posting on X, “America’s unions will see you in court.” Lee Saunders, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, called the mass firings “illegal and will have devastating effects on the services millions of Americans rely on every day.”
Lawmakers from both parties have voiced strong opposition to the administration’s actions. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer condemned the layoffs, stating, “Russell Vought just fired thousands of Americans with a tweet. Let’s be blunt: nobody’s forcing Trump and Vought to do this. They don’t have to do it; they want to. They’re callously choosing to hurt people—the workers who protect our country, inspect our food, respond when disasters strike. This is deliberate chaos.” Senator Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said, “A shutdown does not give Trump or Vought new, special powers to cause more chaos or permanently weaken more basic services for the American people.” Republican Senator Susan Collins, who chairs the appropriations panel, also criticized the move: “Arbitrary layoffs result in a lack of sufficient personnel needed to conduct the mission of the agency and to deliver essential programs, and cause harm to families in Maine and throughout our country.”
Legal experts and some insiders within the administration have raised concerns about the legality of conducting permanent layoffs during a shutdown. Lawyers representing federal workers argue that such firings are illegal and predict a wave of litigation and confusion. Economists at Evercore ISI, a Wall Street research firm, warned earlier this month that using the shutdown as an excuse for layoffs would lead to “confusion and litigation.” Even some cabinet secretaries have reportedly expressed wariness about the move.
The Trump administration has been pursuing permanent layoffs throughout 2025 as part of broader cost-cutting efforts, but with mixed results. Some firings have been reversed, and in certain cases, agencies have asked laid-off workers to return. The federal workforce was already down by 200,000 employees this year before the latest round of layoffs began, according to Axios.
Meanwhile, the political deadlock that triggered the shutdown shows no sign of resolution. Democrats remain unified in their demand that any stopgap funding bill must include an extension of enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits, which lower the cost of health insurance for millions. Republicans, led by President Trump, refuse to negotiate on health care until Democrats agree to reopen the government. The Senate has failed to pass funding resolutions seven times, and with no business scheduled until next week, the shutdown is expected to drag on.
As the fallout from these unprecedented layoffs unfolds, federal workers, their unions, and lawmakers across the political spectrum brace for legal battles and further disruption. For now, the nation watches as the standoff in Washington transforms a routine budget impasse into a historic and deeply personal crisis for thousands of American families.
