Trump Administration Lays Off Over 4,000 Federal Workers Amid Ongoing Government Shutdown

The Trump administration has begun mass layoffs of federal employees as the U.S. government shutdown continues due to a funding deadlock in Congress.

White House Office of Management and Budget Director, Russell Vought, confirmed the move in a post on X, stating, “The RIFs have begun,” using the acronym for “reductions in force.” His office later described the cuts as “substantial,” with layoffs spanning seven major federal agencies.

According to a Justice Department filing, more than 4,000 workers across departments have received termination notices, with the Treasury Department and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) suffering the largest cuts. Other affected agencies include Homeland Security, Education, Energy, Housing and Urban Development, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Specific figures released Friday show 1,446 layoffs at Treasury, over 1,100 at HHS, 466 at Education, 315 at Commerce, 187 at Energy, and 176 at Homeland Security. About 20–30 EPA employees also received preliminary notices warning of possible future dismissals.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he intends to use the shutdown as leverage to reduce what he calls an “overbloated” federal workforce. However, Democrats and federal employee unions have condemned the move, calling it “illegal and vindictive.”

“This is a cruel and unnecessary abuse of power,” said Lee Saunders, president of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). “We will pursue every available legal avenue to stop these firings.”

The layoffs come amid ongoing lawsuits by the American Federation of Government Employees and the AFL-CIO, challenging the administration’s authority to order mass dismissals during a shutdown.

A DHS spokesperson said the cuts at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) are part of efforts to “get CISA back on mission,” while HHS officials described the move as an attempt to eliminate “wasteful and duplicative entities.”

The mass firings have deepened tensions between the White House and federal employee unions, as the shutdown enters another week with no sign of a funding agreement in sight.