The Washington Post has received information that US leader Donald Trump's team has begun large-scale layoffs of federal workers amid the government shutdown.
Points of attention
- US President Donald Trump has blamed the Democrats for the shutdown and defended the layoffs as a deliberate move to let go of 'people the Democrats want.'
- The Environmental Protection Agency has also warned of potential future cuts, highlighting the widespread impact of the staff reduction process.
Shutdown led to mass layoffs in the US
US Presidential Administration Budget Director Russell Vote officially confirmed to a media representative that the staff reduction process began on October 10.
The White House reported to a federal judge in California that seven agencies — Commerce, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Homeland Security, and Finance — issued RIFs to a total of more than 4,100 employees.
The Environmental Protection Agency has warned several dozen of its team members about potential future cuts, according to government lawyers.
As journalists learned, other departments are also forced to consider additional layoffs due to a prolonged lack of funding.
Trump, in turn, told reporters in the Oval Office that the administration deliberately decided to fire "people the Democrats want."
What is important to understand is that in most cases, the dismissals affected departments whose activities do not correspond to the priorities of the president's team.
