Podcast Episode Details
Back to Podcast Episodes
Amid Shutdown, Thousands of Federal Workers Face Layoffs Across Agencies
Russ Vought, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, recently announced on social media that reduction in force actions, known as RIFs, have begun across federal agencies. According to an LAist report, this move affects thousands of workers amid a government shutdown, with the Department of Health and Human Services facing one thousand one hundred to one thousand two hundred layoffs, the Department of Education four hundred sixty six, Commerce three hundred fifteen, Energy one hundred eighty seven, and Homeland Security one hundred seventy six. OMB spokesperson Stephen Billy described the situation as fluid and rapidly evolving in a court declaration responding to a federal judge's order.
Vought's announcement came hours before a court deadline requiring details on planned RIFs tied to the shutdown. American Federation of Government Employees President Everett Kelley called it disgraceful, arguing it illegally targets workers providing critical services. Senator Susan Collins strongly opposed the permanent layoffs of furloughed employees, blaming the shutdown on partisan disputes. Democrats like Chuck Schumer accused Vought and President Trump of deliberate chaos to shrink the federal bureaucracy.
Courts have mixed rulings on these efforts. Federal Worker Rights blog notes the Supreme Court rejected injunctions blocking RIFs at the Department of Education and government wide, enabling nearly twenty thousand terminations. However, lower courts halted attempts to close agencies like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, where Vought instructed employees to stay home ten months ago, and parts of Health and Human Services. A federal judge recently ruled Vought must keep the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau funded, blocking closure plans, as reported by Politico.
Vought also targeted the National Center for Atmospheric Research, calling it one of the largest sources of climate alarmism in a social media post, according to AOL news. This aligns with broader efforts to cut rules, with over six hundred federal regulations eliminated in the past year, ahead of a planned meeting with President Trump on October second, twenty twenty five.
Ongoing litigation, including Merit Systems Protection Board cases and potential Supreme Court reviews on channeling doctrine, will shape federal workforce changes into twenty twenty six.
Thank you for tuning in, listeners. Please subscribe for more updates. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.
For more http://www.quietplease.ai
Get the best deals https://amzn.to/3ODvOta
This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
Published on 11 hours ago