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Federal Workforce Cuts Deepen Amid Government Shutdown Crisis
Russ Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, has led bold moves amid the ongoing government shutdown. On Friday, Vought posted on the social media site X that reduction in force notices, known as RIFs, have begun for federal workers. An Office of Management and Budget spokesperson confirmed to NPR that the layoffs are substantial but gave no exact numbers yet. According to LAist, the Department of Health and Human Services faces one thousand one hundred to one thousand two hundred job cuts, targeting non essential employees.
President Donald Trump met with Vought last week to discuss federal job cuts, calling it a chance to target Democrat led agencies. Trump praised Vought as a key figure in Project twenty twenty five, the Heritage Foundation plan to shrink government through cuts and less regulation. AOL reports that Vought warned House Republicans the layoffs were one to two days away, following a memo threatening reductions if Democrats rejected funding plans.
Vought also announced cuts to projects in Democrat leaning states. He outlined eight billion dollars in energy project reductions across sixteen states, including California, Colorado, Illinois, and New York, all won by Kamala Harris in twenty twenty four. He paused an eighteen billion dollar climate project in New York City, citing unconstitutional diversity, equity, and inclusion principles.
Democrats call these actions intimidation. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Vought is out of control. Unions like the American Federation of Government Employees sued the administration, arguing the firings break the law. Senator Susan Collins opposed permanent layoffs of furloughed workers.
AOL notes the administration froze transportation funding in Chicago and New York while canceling Biden era energy grants to reduce bureaucracy. These steps tie into Trumps workforce optimization push since January.
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Published on 4 days, 15 hours ago