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As the government shutdown enters its third week, thousands of federal employees on Friday, including those at the Department of Health and Human Services, have received layoff notices.
President Donald Trump fired the federal employees after threatening to do so because of the government shutdown.
Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought posted on X on Friday, “The RIFs have begun,” a reference to a reduction in force.
An estimated 4,200 employees were laid off on Friday, according to The Hill.
Politico reported the layoffs hit the Environmental Protection Agency and the Interior, Energy and Commerce departments, along with Homeland Security, Education, Treasury, Health and Human Services, and Housing and Urban Development.
Unknown is how the layoffs are affecting operations at these departments.
Over the weekend, the Trump administration reversed layoff notices for hundreds of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention staff, according to the American Federation of Government Employees. Of 1,300 layoff notices sent Friday, approximately 700 were reinstated on Saturday, while about 600 remain laid off, according to CNN.
The government shut down on Oct. 1 after lawmakers failed to pass a new appropriations bill. Lawmakers are expected to be back in session on Tuesday.
Democrats are holding out on coming to a budget deal over a fight for the continuation of premium subsidies for Affordable Care Act plans and cuts to Medicaid.
The American Federation of Government Employees brought a lawsuit Friday morning over the RIF threat in federal court in California.
Usually during a shutdown, staff are furloughed and brought back after passage of a budget.
In late September, HHS issued its FY 2026 Contingency Staffing Plan for Operations in the Absence of Enacted Annual Appropriations. HHS said it expected more than 32,000 of its nearly 80,000 workers to be furloughed during the shutdown.
Email the writer: SMorse@himss.org