Federal Layoffs Begin as Democrats Sustain Shutdown Over $1.5 Trillion Spending Demands
During Thursday's Cabinet meeting, President Trump previewed the cuts, stating: "We'll be making cuts that will be permanent. And we're only going to cut Democrat programs, I hate to tell you. I guess that makes sense, but we're only cutting Democrat programs..."
Reductions in force at the Internal Revenue Service commenced Friday, with 1,400 employees slated for permanent layoffs as the partial government shutdown—now in its 11th day—exposes redundancies in federal operations, according to the Office of Management and Budget. The cuts, targeting administrative and enforcement roles not essential for tax return processing, mark the initial wave of workforce reductions under President Donald Trump's directive to eliminate bloat during the impasse.
OMB Director Russell Vought confirmed the IRS action on X: "The RIFs have begun." Additional planned layoffs span multiple agencies: the Department of the Interior (500 positions in land management), Department of Homeland Security (300 in administrative support), Department of Commerce (200 in economic analysis), Department of Education (400 in grant oversight), Department of Energy (250 in regulatory compliance), Department of Housing and Urban Development (350 in program administration), Department of Health and Human Services (600 in non-essential research coordination), and Environmental Protection Agency (150 in permitting). These total over 3,500 positions, focusing on roles Vought described as duplicative, with protections for frontline functions like disaster response and tax collection.
The shutdown originated September 30 when funding expired after the House passed a clean continuing resolution (CR) on September 29 by a 217-215 vote, extending baseline appropriations through November 21 without policy riders or additional spending. The measure, supported unanimously by Republicans, received no Democratic votes in the House. In the Senate, where filibuster rules require 60 votes for cloture to advance legislation, Democrats blocked the bill twice—on September 30 (53-47) and October 1 (52-48)—demanding attachment of a $1.5 trillion spending package that would nearly double the CR's $1.7 trillion annualized cost.
The Democratic proposal, outlined in Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's (D-N.Y.) counteroffer, includes $335 billion over 10 years for Affordable Care Act premium tax credit extensions set to expire December 31, 2025, alongside $500 billion for expanded Medicaid matching and $665 billion in unrelated items like public broadcasting subsidies and climate grants. These additions, requiring separate appropriations under the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, extend beyond the CR's purpose of maintaining essential functions during budget negotiations.
During Thursday's Cabinet meeting, President Trump previewed the cuts, stating: "We'll be making cuts that will be permanent. And we're only going to cut Democrat programs, I hate to tell you. I guess that makes sense, but we're only cutting Democrat programs... They wanted to do this. So we'll give them a little taste of their own medicine." Trump accused Schumer of hypocrisy, noting his past opposition to shutdowns, and claimed internal Democratic "rebellion" as pressure mounts.
The standoff has furloughed 800,000 workers and delayed services, including national parks closures and IRS refunds, at $1 billion daily economic cost per Congressional Budget Office estimates. Negotiations resumed Friday between Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Schumer, but Democratic insistence on the package persists, with three Senate Democrats—Sens. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), and independent Angus King (I-Maine)—voting for the clean CR. A New York Times/Siena poll from September 22-27 showed 65% opposition to a Democratic-led shutdown.
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