Trump Administration Plans Over 10,000 Federal Job Cuts Amid Shutdown

The Trump administration is planning to eliminate more than 10,000 federal positions as the government shutdown continues, according to White House budget director Russell Vought.

Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, stated today that the administration intends to aggressively reduce the size of the federal bureaucracy during the shutdown. “We want to be very aggressive where we can be in shuttering the bureaucracy, not just the funding,” he said during an appearance on “The Charlie Kirk Show,” broadcast from the White House. The administration initially sent reduction-in-force (RIF) notices to approximately 4,200 federal employees last Friday, a number that has been slightly adjusted.

“It could grow higher,” Vought said, adding, “I think we’ll probably end up being north of 10,000.” These planned cuts are occurring as the shutdown enters its third week, impacting government services nationwide. The White House has detailed its estimates of potential RIFs in court filings related to a lawsuit brought by federal employee unions seeking to halt the planned firings; similar disputes over federal worker rights occurred during the previous government shutdowns.

During a court hearing today regarding the lawsuit, a federal judge indicated a preliminary inclination to grant the unions’ request to block the administration from proceeding with the layoffs. These job cuts, if implemented, would represent a significant contraction of the federal workforce and could further disrupt government operations. You can find more information about the federal budget process at the USA.gov website.

Officials stated they will continue to evaluate opportunities to reduce the federal workforce as the shutdown persists.