The Trump administration has said it plans to ultimately fire at least 4,100 employees across several agencies, per estimates in an administration official’s court filing. The Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought announced the layoffs on X Friday, following threats to use the government shutdown to enact the layoffs.
ALSO READ: Tennessee factory explosion: Deadly history haunts military munitions facility with past fines scrutiny
Government shutdown: Mass firings begin
The White House said on Friday that it had begun substantial layoffs across the US government. This comes as President Donald Trump followed through on a threat to cut the federal workforce during the government shutdown. Job cuts were underway at the Treasury Department, the U.S. health agency and the departments of education, commerce, and Homeland Security’s cybersecurity division, spokespeople said. The extent of the layoff is yet to be known.
Roughly 300,000 federal civilian workers will leave their jobs this year due to a downsizing campaign initiated earlier this year by Trump. Reduction-in-force notices are being sent to federal workers across seven departments, reported NBC News, with the Treasury Department and Department of Health and Human Services being the hardest hit, accounting for more than half of the total layoffs, shows a new Justice Department filing.
The court filing is in response to a lawsuit over the shutdown layoffs from the American Federation of Government Employees and the AFL-CIO. Other affected agencies include the departments of Homeland Security, Education, Energy, Housing and Urban Development and the Environmental Protection Agency.ALSO READ: Who is Emily Snyder? Meet World no 204 Valentin Vacherot’s girlfriend as he shocks Novak Djokovic
‘See you in court’
On Friday, notices were issued to hundreds of federal employees: approximately 315 at the Commerce Department, 466 at the Education Department, and 187 at the Energy Department. Health and Human Services saw the largest impact, with roughly 1,100 to 1,200 employees receiving notices, alongside 176 at the Department of Homeland Security and 1,446 at the Treasury.
Additionally, around 20 to 30 Environmental Protection Agency staff were informed they could face future reductions in force. Earlier, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, part of Commerce, had sent notices to 126 employees when the government shut down on October 1.
Democrats are criticizing the move, arguing that a government shutdown does not authorize President Donald Trump to terminate workers or grant him extra powers, accusing the White House of acting out of vindictiveness.
ALSO READ: Wendy Osefo and her husband staged home burglary: How were Real Housewives of Potomac stars’ caught?
Prominent labor groups responded Friday by questioning the legality of the White House’s move and threatening legal action, including the AFL-CIO, which tweeted, “America’s unions will see you in court.”
AFSCME President Lee Saunders said the “mass firings are illegal” and will hurt families, vowing to “pursue every available legal avenue to stop” the administration’s action.
President Trump has repeatedly referred to federal employees as members of the “deep state.” Trump said Thursday at the White House: “We’ll be cutting very popular Democrat programs that aren’t popular with Republicans.”
as a Reliable and Trusted News Source