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The White House confirmed the start of government employee layoffs on Friday, making good on prior threats in response to the ongoing US government shutdown, which is now poised to stretch into its third consecutive week.

Official Announcement and Early Information

Russell Vought posted on social media that “reductions in force have begun,” indicating the official procedure for terminating staff.

While the official did not specify which departments were affected, a representative from the Treasury Department confirmed that notices had been distributed within that department. Furthermore, a DHS spokesperson indicated that staff reductions would take place at the CISA. Moreover, a union for federal workers confirmed that employees at the Department of Education would be affected by the staff cuts.

Labor Reaction and Legal Challenges

Labor representatives cautions that the terminations would have “devastating effects” on public services used by the public and pledged to contest the actions in court.

“It is disgraceful that the administration has exploited the government shutdown as an pretext to wrongfully terminate thousands of workers who deliver critical services to the public across the country,” said Everett Kelley, who leads the American Federation of Government Employees.

The AFL-CIO reacted to the announcement, saying, “America’s unions will see you in court.”

Political Standoff and Funding Battle

Congressional Democrats have refused to support a Republican-backed bill to restore funding unless it contains healthcare-centered concessions. Following multiple unsuccessful votes, the Senate’s Republican leaders have adjourned the Senate until the following week, meaning the deadlock is not expected to be resolved before then.

At a press conference, the Republican House speaker, the speaker, blasted Senate Democrats for not supporting the GOP proposal, which passed in the lower chamber on a near party-line vote.

“This is the last paycheck that 700,000 federal workers will see until opposition leaders decide to do their job and end the shutdown,” the speaker stated. “Starting next week, American service members, many of whom live on tight budgets, are going to miss a full paycheck.”

Legal and Operational Constraints

Previously, unions filed for a temporary restraining order to prevent the administration from implementing any layoffs during the shutdown. Moreover, a federal judge ordered the administration to disclose details on termination strategies, impacted departments, and whether any federal employees had been brought back to execute layoffs.

A report contended that a funding lapse restricts the authority of the administration to conduct terminations, citing official advice that admitted any permanent layoffs need to have been initiated prior to the shutdown began.

Impact on Workers

These terminations took place on the same day that government employees got only a incomplete payment for the end of the previous month but excluding the beginning of October, since funding lapsed at the beginning of the month.

A public service advocate, the president of the non-profit Partnership for Public Service, criticized the gridlock’s impact on federal employees.

This is unjust to make federal employees bear the burden because our elected officials in Congress and the White House have failed to keep our federal operations open and operational,” the advocate said. The flight regulators, veterans’ healthcare providers, wildland firefighters and food inspectors are not responsible for this government shutdown.”

The irony is that lawmakers and senior White House leaders are still receiving salaries during the shutdown.