For the first time in modern U.S. history! The White House "butler" announces the Trump administration is beginning permanent layoffs.

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The U.S. federal government shutdown has entered its 10th day. The White House "steward" has confirmed that the Trump administration has set a precedent in modern U.S. history: for the first time, there will be large-scale permanent layoffs during a government shutdown.

On Friday, October 10, Eastern Time, White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought stated on social media that the Trump administration has begun large-scale permanent layoffs of federal employees. This means that during this shutdown, the practice of only requiring staff to take temporary leave is no longer being followed. Instead, a large number of "civil servants" off the job will be permanently dismissed.

An OMB spokesperson later confirmed that the scale of the layoffs is "quite considerable." White House officials told the media the layoffs will affect "thousands of federal employees." Other government officials revealed that at least nine departments, including the Department of the Interior, Department of Homeland Security, Treasury, EPA, Commerce, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, and Housing, will be affected by this wave of layoffs.

The permanent layoffs mark an escalation in the standoff between President Trump, other Republicans, and the Democrats.

Due to deadlock between the two parties over core issues such as whether to extend the Obama administration's healthcare subsidies, the U.S. Senate had, as of Thursday, rejected seven consecutive attempts at passing temporary funding bills to restart the government. On Thursday, Trump issued a new threat to Democrats, saying he would "only cut Democratic projects" during the shutdown.

Labor unions representing federal employees have already gone to court to resist the layoffs. A judge required the Department of Justice to submit a report on the layoff plans during the shutdown by Friday afternoon. Maryland Democratic Congressman Sarah Elfreth criticized the layoffs as "not only immoral and unfair, but also illegal."

Unprecedented Layoff Actions

Vought posted on social media on Friday: "RIF has begun." RIF is the federal government's official term for layoffs, short for "reductions in force."

An OMB spokesperson told the media directly: "We can confirm the RIF has started and the scale is massive. These are RIF (layoffs), not furloughs."

Vought's declaration breaks the modern U.S. historical precedent regarding government shutdowns. In previous shutdowns, employees usually only took temporary leave, not permanent dismissal.

HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon confirmed that staff in several HHS divisions had received layoff notifications, with some layoffs targeting personnel "not aligned with the Trump administration's 'Make America Healthy Again' agenda." An Education Department spokesperson also confirmed that some employees would receive layoff notices on Friday.

However, two Interior Department employees stated after Vought's post that they had not heard of major layoffs from department officials. One said the union had not received notice of imminent layoffs.

Analysts pointed out that firing federal workers or making permanent budget cuts to agencies during a shutdown is an unprecedented move. Some government officials claim the layoffs are intended to save funds to maintain essential operations during the shutdown.

Political Game and Legal Challenge

The layoffs are the latest pressure tactic by the Trump administration on Democratic districts.

Before the permanent layoffs were confirmed, the Trump administration had suspended $18 billion in New York City infrastructure spending, $2 billion in Chicago transportation project funds, and $8 billion in green energy projects in 16 states—states which voted for Democratic candidate, then Vice President Harris, in last year’s presidential election.

Trump further politicized the shutdown crisis at a Thursday cabinet meeting, announcing the government would use the shutdown to "permanently cut" projects backed by Democrats. He said: "We’ll only cut Democratic projects. They wanted this (shutdown), now they’ll have to taste the bitter fruits of their own making."

Two weeks ago, in a memo, OMB instructed Trump administration officials to prepare RIF implementation plans during a shutdown, specifically for projects that are not legally required or conflict with Trump policy priorities.

Last week, two unions representing government employees filed for a temporary restraining order in the Northern District of California’s federal court, seeking to stop mass layoffs of federal staff during the shutdown. The court is scheduled to hold a hearing on October 16.

Divisions Within the Republican Party

Notably, Republican leadership is cautious about firing federal workers. House Speaker Mike Johnson said, “There may indeed be some projects that should be cancelled, but we want to see federal employees protected.”

Johnson and other leaders said they believe all employees should receive back pay regardless of whether they had to work during the shutdown. However, the White House argued in a recent memo that it cannot guarantee back pay to furloughed employees, even though federal law intends to ensure full compensation.

Senate Republican leader John Thune commented, “I think they’ve delayed as long as they could.” This shows that even within the Republican Party, there are differing opinions on such large-scale, permanent layoffs.

Future Impact and Uncertainty

Currently, more than two-thirds of civilian federal employees are still at work. They are either essential workers or have positions currently funded for ongoing operations. The rest have gone on leave. The vast majority of federal employees do not receive pay during the shutdown.

White House press secretary Levitt said this week: "This administration wants the government to reopen. We don't want to see anyone laid off. Unfortunately, if the shutdown continues, layoffs will be an unfortunate consequence."

According to regulations, any layoff notices issued in the coming days may come with a 60-day notice period before employees are actually terminated. Although some government officials previously suggested the layoffs were permanent, the OMB has advised agencies that their layoff plans may be revised after the shutdown ends.

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