The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has instructed federal agencies to draw up plans for potential layoffs in case Congress fails to pass a spending bill by Tuesday, raising the stakes in the latest government funding standoff.
The memo from the Office of Management and Budget, first reported by Politico , points to job losses for certain federal employees if the government shuts down next week. It advises agencies to prepare “reduction-in-force” notices — the official term for federal layoffs — for employees working in programs or projects that lose funding on October 1 or lack alternative financing. It also specifies that workers tied to initiatives not aligned with the president’s priorities should receive such notices. Traditionally, government shutdowns have resulted in temporary furloughs for non-essential staff, while employees in critical roles are asked to work without pay until funding resumes. Permanent layoffs are far less common.
According to the memo, these layoffs would come on top of furlough orders, which require federal employees to stay home without pay during a shutdown. The memo states: “programs that did not benefit from an infusion of mandatory appropriations will bear the brunt of a shutdown, and we must continue our planning efforts in the event Democrats decide to shut down the government.”
An OMB official clarified that several essential programs and services would not be affected, including Social Security, Medicare, veterans’ benefits, military operations, law enforcement, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, and air traffic control. These areas are funded by law and would not be subject to layoffs.
The memo closed with: “we remain hopeful that Democrats in Congress will not trigger a shutdown and the steps outlined above will not be necessary. The President supports enactment of a clean CR to ensure no discretionary spending lapse after September 30, 2025, and OMB hopes the Democrats will agree.”
Bobby Kogan, who previously worked at OMB under the Biden administration, condemned the move as reckless and said the mass firings would be “an action of enormous self-harm inflicted on the nation, needlessly ridding the country of talent and expertise. It’s also extortive. ‘Give us what we want in a funding fight, or we’ll hurt the country’”
Democrats on Capitol Hill also pushed back, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York calling the memo “an attempt at intimidation.” Schumer wrote: “Donald Trump has been firing federal workers since day one — not to govern, but to scare. This is nothing new and has nothing to do with funding the government,” predicting that any laid-off workers will be hired back.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, also a New York Democrat, echoed that sentiment on X, writing: “We will not be intimidated by your threat to engage in mass firings. Get lost.”‘
The government’s fiscal year ends on September 30, leaving just days for lawmakers to reach an agreement before a shutdown begins Wednesday. A short-term spending bill passed by House Republicans has stalled in the Senate, where it fell short of the 60 votes required to advance. With 53 Senate seats, Republicans will need support from at least seven Democrats to break the impasse. Democrats, however, are pressing for concessions, including reversing recent Medicaid cuts and extending health insurance tax credits, before they agree to a deal.
Editorial credit: Tada Images / Shutterstock.com
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