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The White House confirmed the initiation of federal worker terminations on the end of the week, following through on prior threats linked to the ongoing federal funding lapse, which is now poised to extend into its third consecutive week.

Formal Statement and Early Information

The director of the White House budget office posted on social media that “reductions in force have begun,” referring to the official process for letting employees go.

While the official did not specify which agencies were impacted, a treasury spokesperson confirmed that layoff warnings had been issued within that agency. Furthermore, a DHS representative indicated that staff reductions would also occur at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Moreover, a union for federal workers confirmed that members at the Education Department would be affected by the staff cuts.

Union Response and Legal Challenges

Labor representatives cautions that the layoffs would have “severe consequences” on public services used by the public and vowed to challenge the moves in the legal system.

“It is disgraceful that the administration has used the government shutdown as an pretext to wrongfully terminate numerous employees who provide essential functions to communities nationwide,” said a national union president, representing the American Federation of Government Employees.

The AFL-CIO reacted to the news, declaring, “Labor organizations will see you in court.”

Political Standoff and Funding Battle

Congressional Democrats have declined to vote for a Republican-backed bill to restore funding unless it includes healthcare-centered concessions. Following repeated failed attempts, the GOP leadership in the Senate have put the chamber in recess until the following week, meaning the standoff is not expected to be resolved soon.

At a press conference, the GOP leader in the House, Mike Johnson, blasted Senate Democrats for rejecting the GOP proposal, which was approved in the House on a largely partisan basis.

“This is the last paycheck that 700,000 federal workers will see until Washington Democrats decide to fulfill their duties and end the shutdown,” Johnson said. “Starting next week, American service members, many of whom live paycheck to paycheck, are going to miss a full paycheck.”

Judicial and Practical Limits

Previously, unions sought a temporary restraining order to block the government from carrying out any reductions in force during the shutdown. Moreover, a federal judge directed the government to provide specifics on layoff plans, impacted departments, and if any federal employees had been brought back to execute staff reductions.

An analysis contended that a government shutdown limits the ability of the administration to conduct terminations, citing guidance that admitted any long-term staff cuts need to have been initiated prior to the shutdown began.

Impact on Workers

The layoffs took place on the same day that federal workers got only a partial paycheck covering the final days of September but not the beginning of the current month, since funding lapsed at the beginning of the period.

A public service advocate, the president of the non-profit Partnership for Public Service, criticized the political stalemate’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 government running,” Stier stated. “Our flight regulators, VA nurses, smoke jumpers and safety officials are not at fault for this funding crisis.”

A notable point is that lawmakers and top administration officials are continuing to be paid during the shutdown.