What to know about the Trump administration’s plans to lay off federal workers: NPR

The federal government has been at a standstill for more than two weeks.

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Unions representing federal workers say the Trump administration is planning mass layoffs at the Interior Department despite a court order temporarily blocking layoffs during the shutdown.

The revelation came amid a legal battle between the administration and two federal employee unions — the American Federation of Government Employees and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees — who sued to block what they call “politically driven RIFs,” or force reductions.

In a statement filed with the court late Thursday, plaintiffs’ attorney Danielle Leonard wrote that “multiple credible sources” said the Interior Department was actively preparing to lay off thousands of employees starting Monday.

“This immediately raised concerns about compliance with the Court’s order,” Leonard wrote in a statement. When prosecutors asked government lawyers about the claim Thursday afternoon, a Justice Department attorney responded that “in accordance with the Court’s order, we will provide the required information tomorrow.”

In response, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston agreed to advance the deadline she imposed on the government to provide the court with “a record of all RIFs, current or threatened, imposed by this law.” [temporary restraining order].”

Illston has now asked the administration to provide details on the number of affected employees and a description of the programs and activities affected by cuts by Friday at 2 p.m. ET.

This week, the Trump administration had informed the court that federal agencies had begun the RIF process at eight agencies, involving just over 4,000 people. The slight downgrade from what the administration provided last Friday included the revelation that approximately 800 employees within the Department of Health and Human Services were incorrectly given layoff notices.

President Trump listens to other speakers after delivering remarks at an event in the Oval Office of the White House on October 16.

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The statement from Office of Management and Budget senior advisor Stephen Billy emphasized that “the situation… is fluid and rapidly evolving.”

After a hearing on Wednesday, Illston granted the unions a temporary restraining order, halting the Oct. 10 layoff notices and preventing new layoffs until a permanent injunction hearing scheduled for Oct. 28.

Illston characterized the Trump administration’s approach to RIFs during Wednesday’s hearing as “ready, fire, aim” and said the administration was trying to take advantage of the loss of funding “by assuming that all bets are off, that the laws no longer apply to them, and that they can impose the structures they like on a government situation they don’t like.”

In response, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called Illston “another far-left, partisan judge.”

Leavitt told reporters Thursday that the White House is confident its actions are legal and called the firings “an unfortunate consequence” of the government shutdown.

While the White House promised “substantial” layoffs during the shutdown, the layoffs announced so far include only a fraction of the federal employees who have left the government since Trump returned to the White House in January.

In August, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) said about 300,000 federal employees would be gone from the government by the end of the year. OPM Director Scott Kupor told the press that 80% of these departures were voluntary.

That means that even before the shutdown, about 60,000 federal employees faced involuntary separation.

Another 154,000 employees have taken advantage of the Trump administration’s “Fork in the Road” buyout offer, according to OPM. Many who accepted the takeover told NPR they feared they would be fired if they didn’t leave.

Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought said Wednesday that nearly 10,000 people could receive layoff notices during the shutdown, shortly before a judge blocked the layoff plans from taking effect.