The Trump White House has raised the stakes in the latest government funding standoff, instructing agencies to prepare not just for a shutdown but for large-scale, permanent firings of federal workers.
In a memo released Wednesday evening, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) told agencies to draft “reduction in force” plans for programs whose funding lapses next week and that are “not consistent with the President’s priorities.”
This represents a sharp departure from precedent. Traditionally, shutdowns have meant furloughs: temporary pauses in paychecks and operations until lawmakers reach a deal. Employees typically return once funding is restored.
But a reduction in force would go much further, eliminating positions outright and shrinking the federal workforce even after Congress passes a spending bill. For an administration already committed to downsizing Washington, the memo signals a dramatic acceleration.
The implications are profound. If carried out, the cuts would add to the significant workforce reductions already made this year through Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency and related initiatives. Agencies, according to the OMB directive, would be expected to re-staff only “the minimal number of employees necessary to carry out statutory functions” after the shutdown ends.
The move escalates pressure on Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries, who have so far united their caucuses against the president’s preferred “clean” seven-week funding extension.
Democrats are demanding immediate legislative action on health care—specifically an extension of expiring insurance subsidies and reversal of Medicaid cuts included in Republicans’ tax and spending package.
Both Schumer and Jeffries rejected the OMB memo with defiance. Jeffries dismissed it outright on X, telling the administration to “get lost” and labeling OMB Director Russ Vought a “malignant political hack.” Schumer called the plan an “attempt at intimidation” and predicted mass firings would either be struck down in court or ultimately reversed by rehiring.
Still, the OMB appears to be moving aggressively. The office confirmed it held its first shutdown planning call with agencies earlier this week and has demanded updated “lapse plans” immediately. While past administrations have made such plans public, the current White House has not posted them online, keeping details of which positions would be cut under wraps.
