The shutdown fallout continues…
Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought announced on Friday that his office has started firing federal workers, writing on X that “the RIFs [reduction-in-force] have begun.”
A spokesperson for the budget office said that the layoffs are “substantial,” without providing further details. Ahead of the Oct. 1 government shutdown, President Donald Trump’s administration instructed federal agencies to submit plans for workforce reductions in programs whose funding had expired, lacked alternate financial support, or conflicted with the president’s policy priorities.
During a Cabinet meeting on Thursday, Trump clarified that he’s only focused on cutting Democratic programs, saying, “That’s the way it works. They wanted to do this, so we will give them a little taste of their own medicine.”
On Wednesday, Representative Thomas Massie (R-KY) posted on X, writing, “Remember, the swamp loves the threat of a shutdown. By withholding funding for things Americans want, they can get funding for things nobody wants.”
It’s about time!