Unions representing federal employees say the Trump administration is planning to conduct mass firings at the Interior Department despite a court order temporarily blocking layoffs during the shutdown.
Earlier this week, the Trump administration had informed the court that federal agencies had begun the RIF process at eight different agencies, affecting just over 4,000 people.
While the White House promised “substantial” firings during the shutdown, the layoffs announced so far amount to only a fraction of the federal employees who have left the government since Trump returned to the White House in January.
Back in August, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) said roughly 300,000 federal workers would be gone from the government by the end of the year.
That means even prior to the shutdown, roughly 60,000 federal workers faced involuntary separation.
Despite a court ruling temporarily prohibiting layoffs during the shutdown, unions that represent federal employees claim the Trump administration intends to carry out mass firings at the Interior Department.
The disclosure coincided with a legal battle between the administration and two federal employee unions, the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees and the American Federation of Government Employees, who filed a lawsuit to stop what they refer to as “politically driven RIFs,” or force reductions.
Danielle Leonard, the plaintiffs’ lawyer, stated in a declaration submitted to the court late Thursday that “multiple credible sources” indicated the Interior Department was actively planning to lay off thousands of workers beginning Monday.
“This immediately raised concerns regarding compliance with this Court’s order,” Leonard wrote in a declaration. On Thursday afternoon, when the plaintiffs questioned government lawyers about the claim, a lawyer from the Justice Department said, “We will provide the necessary information tomorrow in accordance with the Court’s order. “,”.
As a reaction, U. A. The government was ordered to give the court “an accounting of all RIFs, actual or imminent, that are enjoined by this [temporary restraining order],” and District Judge Susan Illston agreed to extend that deadline. “.
Illston has now requested that the government supply by 2:00 p.m. M. ET Friday, information on how many workers will be impacted, and a rundown of the programs and activities that are being cut.
The Trump administration told the court earlier this week that just over 4,000 people were impacted by the RIF process that federal agencies had started at eight different agencies. Approximately 800 employees of the Department of Health and Human Services were mistakenly given layoff notices, according to the administration’s slightly lower-than-expected revision from last Friday.
The statement, made by Stephen Billy, a senior advisor in the Office of Management and Budget, stressed that “the situation… is fluid and rapidly evolving.”. “.”.
The October action was put on hold after Illston granted the unions a temporary restraining order following a hearing on Wednesday. giving out ten notices of layoffs and stopping new hires until an October hearing on a permanent injunction. 28.
At the hearing on Wednesday, Illston described the Trump administration’s approach to the RIFs as “ready, fire, aim.” He said the administration was trying to use the funding lapse “to assume that all bets are off, that the laws don’t apply to them anymore, and that they can impose the structures that they like on a government situation that they don’t like.”. “..”.
Illston was referred to as “another far left, partisan judge” by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt in response. “..”.
Leavitt said the White House is certain their actions are legal and described the layoffs as “an unfortunate consequence” of the government shutdown in a Thursday interview with reporters.
The layoffs announced thus far only represent a small portion of the federal employees who have left the government since Trump returned to the White House in January, despite the White House’s promise of “substantial” firings during the shutdown.
In August of last year, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) predicted that by the end of the year, about 300,000 federal employees would leave the government. News outlets were informed by OPM director Scott Kupor that 80 percent of those departures were voluntary.
This indicates that about 60,000 federal employees faced involuntary separation even before the shutdown.
OPM reports that another 154,000 employees accepted the “Fork in the Road” buyout offer from the Trump administration. According to many who accepted the buyout, they were afraid of losing their jobs if they stayed.
Shortly before the judge stopped the firing plans from going into effect, OMB Director Russ Vought announced on Wednesday that nearly 10,000 people could receive notices of layoffs during the shutdown.
