The White House circulated a directive late Wednesday to federal agencies asking them to explore firing at least some of their workers if a government shutdown happens, amplifying the stakes of Washington’s ongoing gridlock.
The memo from President Trump’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) directs executive branch agencies “to use this opportunity to consider Reduction in Force (RIF) notices,” adding that the possible permanent cuts would be in areas “not consistent with the president’s priorities.”
Such a move would represent a sharp escalation of past shutdown procedures, which have been marked by a temporary furloughing of some government workers.
The plan this time around, according to the memo, could be for the government to send certain workers home and then eventually reopen, but only “retain the minimal number of employees necessary to carry out statutory functions.”
The agencies are being instructed to complete revised shutdown plans in the coming days before a possible government funding lapse on Oct. 1, which is next Wednesday.
The memo, first reported by Politico, marks a significant break from how shutdowns have worked in the past, where furloughed workers had confidence that they would be brought back to work when government funding was restored.
Read more: How a government shutdown would affect your student loans, Social Security, and more
The move from Trump and Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought is an attempt to pressure Democrats and a measure that Trump’s team has toyed with during previous standoffs.
The move could be made possible by the shutdown mechanics that give government leaders expanded powers and discretion over their workforce.
It is sure to be challenged in court and comes after eight months in office that have seen Trump’s team pursue big cuts in the government workforce, such as with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) effort.
Judges have sometimes declared those moves illegal. Earlier this month, a district judge ruled that the Trump administration acted illegally when it fired thousands of probationary workers.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer immediately slammed the memo as “an attempt at intimidation.”
“This is nothing new and has nothing to do with funding the government,” he added in a statement predicting that courts would overturn any attempts to permanently fire workers.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries responded with a message to Virginia — where there is both an outsized number of government workers and an election later this year — saying that the Trump team’s “goal is to ruin your life and punish hardworking families.”
link