Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), speaks to members of the media exterior the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, July 24, 2025.
Aaron Schwartz | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Layoffs of federal workers have begun amid the continuing U.S. government shutdown, Trump administration funds chief Russell Vought mentioned in a social media put up on Friday.
“The RIFs have begun,” Vought wrote on X, utilizing the acronym for “Reductions in Force.”
The Office of Management and Budget, which Vought leads, confirmed that “RIFs have begun and are substantial.”
No different particulars of the layoffs had been instantly launched.
The announcement comes 4 days after National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett warned in a CNBC interview that President Donald Trump may “start taking sharp measures” if the shutdown continued because of the lack of a stopgap funding deal authorised by Congress.
Hassett mentioned that “any government worker who loses their job” can have Democrats accountable for his or her layoff.
While many federal workers have been furloughed due to the shutdown, it isn’t the traditional follow in shutdowns to completely lay off authorities workers.
A union representing federal workers, the American Federation of Government Employees, rapidly replied to Vought’s tweet, writing, “The lawsuit has been filed.”
“America’s unions will see you in court,” the AFL-CIO mentioned in its personal tweet.
Since the shutdown started final week, Vought has introduced in tweets choices by the Trump administration to freeze and reduce billions of {dollars} in federal funding for initiatives in states and cities managed by Democratic elected officers.
The Trump administration and Republicans in Congress have sought accountable Democrats for the federal government shutdown and any detrimental fallout from it.
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