Trump mass layoffs show he isn’t bluffing on shutdown threats

Published October 11, 2025 7:00am ET



The Trump administration began implementing plans to downsize the federal workforce on Friday amid the government shutdown, following through on the president’s vow to use the closure to target agencies and employees he has long sought to cut.

“The RIFs have begun,” Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought wrote in a terse post on X, referring to “reductions in force.”

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