The White House announced this on Friday go forward with layoffs of federal workers and made good on his threats amid the government shutdown.
Several agencies have confirmed that their employees have received Force Reduction Notices (RIFs). In a submission on Friday According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), 4,100 federal employees have been laid off so far.
Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, announced the layoffs would begin Friday, a day after the Senate failed to pass competing bills from Republicans and Democrats to end the shutdown.
Employee unions have vowed to challenge the layoffs in court, and Democrats and some have also pledged Republicans have criticized The move is one that turns federal employees into political pawns and threatens critical government services.
Here are the agencies The Hill knows have been affected.
Department of Health and Human Services
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said in a statement to The Hill that employees “across multiple departments” had received communications about reductions in violence “as a direct result of the Democrat-led shutdown.”
Between 1,100 and 1,200 employees were laid off Friday, according to the DOJ filing.
“All HHS employees who received notices of staffing reductions were deemed non-essential by their respective departments,” the department said. “HHS continues to close wasteful and duplicative facilities, including those that conflict with the Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again agenda.”
HHS was among the agencies hit hardest by layoffs earlier this year due to the Department for Government Efficiency’s efforts to reduce the size of the government.
It is unclear how many employees will be affected by the layoffs.
Ministry of Homeland Security
A spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed that employees of the sprawling agency would be laid off. According to the DOJ, 176 DHS employees had been laid off as of Friday evening.
In particular, many employees of the Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) should be laid off.
“RIFs will occur at CISA. During the last administration, CISA focused on censorship, branding and electioneering,” a DHS spokesperson said in a statement. “This is part of getting CISA back on the mission.”
The Trump administration has been in our sights for a long time CISA after its former chairman Christopher Krebs refuted President Trump’s claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 election. Trump fired Krebs in November 2020 and the administration revoked Krebs’ security clearance earlier this year.
Environmental Protection Agency
Staff from EPA’s Resource Conservation and Sustainability Division received an email indicating that the agency would be conducting a RIF. Between 20 and 30 EPA employees were notified that they may be affected by a RIF in the future.
“EPA has not yet made a final decision as to whether or when to issue RIF notices to some or all of these employees at some point in the future and is currently discussing these possible plans,” a DOJ filing said.
When asked more broadly about layoffs, an EPA spokesperson told The Hill via email: “It is unfortunate that Democrats chose to shut down the government and brought about this outcome. If they want to reopen the government, they can choose to do so at any time.”
Emergency plans posted online before the shutdown indicated that about 89 percent of the EPA’s workforce was affected should be given leave during the shutdown.
The EPA confirmed There were more than 700 fewer employees in June than in January, although those employees may have separated from the agency for a variety of reasons.
Ministry of Education
A Department of Education spokesperson confirmed to The Hill that its employees “will be impacted by the RIF.”
About 466 Department of Education employees were laid off Friday, according to the DOJ.
The Department of Education is already the target of mass layoffs by the Trump administration. President Trump signed an executive order earlier this year calling for the department to close, and about half of the agency’s employees were laid off, sparking a spark legal challenges.
Ministry of Housing and Urban Development
An administration official confirmed that HUD employees would also be affected by the cuts, but did not specify how many employees or which specific offices.
About 442 HUD employees were laid off Friday, according to legal filings.
Ministry of Finance
A Treasury Department spokesperson confirmed to The Hill that RIF notifications were underway at the agency as of Friday afternoon, but did not provide details on how many people were affected.
The DOJ said 1,446 employees were laid off on Friday.
Multiple reports suggested that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which had already seen staff cuts this year, was affected.
Updated at 7:17 p.m. EDT
Rachel Frazin and Ryan Mancini contributed.
