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The White House disclosed the start of government employee layoffs on Friday, following through on prior threats linked to the continuing federal funding lapse, which is set to stretch into its third straight week.

Official Announcement and Initial Details

The director of the White House budget office wrote on social media that “reductions in force have begun,” referring to the official process for letting employees go.

While Vought provided no details on which agencies were affected, a treasury spokesperson confirmed that notices had been issued within that department. Furthermore, a Department of Homeland Security representative indicated that layoffs would also occur at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Also, a union representing federal workers announced that employees at the Department of Education would be affected by the reduction in force.

Labor Reaction and Legal Challenges

Labor representatives cautions that the layoffs would have “severe consequences” on public services used by millions of Americans and pledged to contest the moves in the legal system.

“It is disgraceful that the administration has used the funding lapse as an pretext to wrongfully terminate thousands of workers who provide critical services to the public nationwide,” said Everett Kelley, who leads the American Federation of Government Employees.

The AFL-CIO reacted to the announcement, saying, “Labor organizations will see you in court.”

Political Standoff and Budget Dispute

Lawmakers from the Democratic party have refused to support a GOP-supported legislation to reopen the government unless it contains healthcare-centered concessions. Following multiple unsuccessful votes, the GOP leadership in the Senate have put the chamber in recess until next Tuesday, indicating the deadlock is not expected to be resolved before then.

During a media briefing, the Republican House speaker, Mike Johnson, criticized Senate Democrats for not supporting the Republican proposal, which passed in the lower chamber on a largely partisan basis.

“This is the last paycheck that 700,000 federal workers will see until opposition leaders decide to do their job and end the shutdown,” Johnson stated. “Starting next week, military personnel, who often live on tight budgets, are going to miss a full paycheck.”

Judicial and Practical Limits

Previously, unions filed for a temporary restraining order to block the administration from implementing any reductions in force during the funding gap. Moreover, a federal judge directed the government to disclose details on termination strategies, affected agencies, and if any federal employees had been recalled to execute layoffs.

An analysis contended that a funding lapse restricts the authority of the administration to conduct terminations, referencing official advice that acknowledged any permanent layoffs need to have been initiated before the funding expired.

Impact on Workers

The layoffs occurred on the same day that government employees received only a incomplete payment covering the final days of the previous month but excluding the beginning of the current month, since funding lapsed at the beginning of the month.

Max Stier, the head of the advocacy group, criticized the gridlock’s impact on government workers.

“It is wrong to make federal employees bear the burden because our leaders in the legislature and the White House have failed to keep our federal operations open and operational,” Stier stated. “Our air traffic controllers, veterans’ healthcare providers, smoke jumpers and safety officials are not responsible for this government shutdown.”

The irony is that lawmakers and senior White House leaders are still receiving salaries amid the funding gap.