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Administration officials confirmed the start of government employee layoffs on Friday, making good on prior threats linked to the continuing federal funding lapse, which is set to stretch into its third straight week.

Official Announcement and Early Information

The director of the White House budget office posted on social media that “RIFs have begun,” referring to the government’s process for terminating staff.

Although the official provided no details on which departments were impacted, a representative from the Treasury Department stated that layoff warnings had been distributed within that department. Furthermore, a DHS spokesperson indicated that staff reductions would take place at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Moreover, a union for federal workers confirmed that employees at the Education Department would be impacted by the staff cuts.

Union Response and Legal Challenges

Labor representatives warned that the layoffs would have “severe consequences” on services used by the public and vowed to contest the moves in court.

“It is disgraceful that the government has used the government shutdown as an pretext to wrongfully terminate numerous employees who provide critical services to the public across the country,” said Everett Kelley, representing the AFGE.

The largest labor federation in the US reacted to the news, saying, “America’s unions will see you in court.”

Political Standoff and Budget Dispute

Lawmakers from the Democratic party have refused to vote for a GOP-supported legislation to restore funding unless it contains provisions related to health policy. After repeated failed attempts, the Senate’s Republican leaders have adjourned the Senate until the following week, meaning the deadlock is not expected to be resolved soon.

At a media briefing, the Republican House speaker, the speaker, criticized opposition lawmakers for not supporting the Republican proposal, which passed in the House on a near party-line vote.

“This is the last paycheck that government employees will see until opposition leaders decide to do their job and reopen the government,” the speaker stated. Beginning shortly, military personnel, who often live on tight budgets, are going to miss a complete payment.”

Judicial and Practical Limits

Last week, labor groups sought a temporary restraining order to prevent the administration from carrying out any layoffs during the funding gap. Moreover, a federal judge directed the government to provide specifics on termination strategies, affected agencies, and whether any federal employees had been recalled to carry out layoffs.

An analysis argued that a funding lapse restricts the authority of the government to conduct terminations, citing guidance that admitted any long-term staff cuts need to have been started prior to the funding expired.

Consequences for Employees

These terminations took place on the very day that federal workers got only a incomplete payment covering the final days of September but not the beginning of the current month, since funding expired at the beginning of the period.

Max Stier, the head of the non-profit Partnership for Public Service, criticized the political stalemate’s impact on federal employees.

This is unjust to make federal employees suffer because our leaders in Congress and the administration have not succeeded to keep our federal operations running,” Stier said. “Our air traffic controllers, VA nurses, wildland firefighters and safety officials are not responsible for this funding crisis.”

A notable point is that lawmakers and top administration officials are still receiving salaries amid the funding gap.