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Layoffs have begun in government shutdown
Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), speaks to members of the media outside the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, July 24, 2025.
Aaron Schwartz | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Layoffs of federal workers have begun amid the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, Trump administration budget chief Russell Vought said in a social media post on Friday.
“The RIFs have begun,” Vought wrote on X, using the acronym for “Reductions in Force.”
The Office of Management and Budget, which Vought leads, confirmed that “RIFs have begun and are substantial.”
While many federal workers have been furloughed because of the shutdown, it is not the normal practice in shutdowns to permanently lay off government employees.
Since the shutdown began last week, Vought has announced in tweets decisions by the Trump administration to freeze and cut billions of dollars in federal funding for projects in states and cities controlled by Democratic elected officials.
The Trump administration and Republicans in Congress have sought to blame Democrats for the government shutdown and any negative fallout from it.
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