Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Russell Vought speaks to reporters outside the West Wing of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 17, 2025. / REUTERS/Nathan Howard

The White House said on Oct. 10 that it had begun substantial layoffs across the U.S. government, as President Donald Trump followed through on a threat to cut the federal workforce during the government shutdown.

Job cuts were underway at the Treasury Department, the U.S. health agency and the departments of education, commerce, and Homeland Security's cybersecurity division, spokespeople said, but the total extent of the layoffs was not immediately clear. Roughly 300,000 federal civilian workers will leave their jobs this year due to a downsizing campaign initiated earlier this year by Trump. 

"The RIFs have begun," White House budget director Russell Vought wrote on social media, referring to so-called reductions in force. A spokesperson for the budget office characterized the cuts as "substantial," without offering further details.

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Trump has repeatedly threatened to fire federal workers during the shutdown standoff, in its 10th day on Oct. 10, and has suggested his administration will aim primarily at "Democrat agencies." 

He has ordered the freezing of at least $28 billion in infrastructure funds for New York, California and Illinois—all home to sizable populations of Democratic voters and critics of the administration.

Trump's Republicans hold majorities in both chambers of Congress but need at least seven Democratic votes to pass a funding bill in the Senate, where Democrats are holding out for an extension of health insurance subsidies.

Democrats said they will not cave to Trump's pressure tactics.

"Until Republicans get serious, they own this—every job lost, every family hurt, every service gutted is because of their decisions," Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said.

Labor unions representing federal workers have sued to stop the layoffs, saying they would be illegal during a shutdown.

A federal judge is due to hear the case on Oct. 16.

The government is required by law to give workers 60 days' notice ahead of any layoffs, though that can be shortened to 30 days. 

HHS and treasury

Employees across multiple divisions of the Department of Health and Human Services have received layoff notices, communications director Andrew Nixon said. The 78,000 workers at the sprawling agency manage major health insurance programs, monitor disease outbreaks, fund medical research, and perform a wide range of other health-related duties.

Roughly 41 percent of the agency's staff have been ordered not to report to work during the shutdown, while others have been ordered to continue working without pay.

Nixon said the layoffs were targeted at those who had been furloughed but did not provide further details. 

Layoffs have also begun at the Treasury Department, according to a spokesperson who spoke on condition of anonymity.

A labor union official, Thomas Huddleston of the American Federation of Government Employees, said in a court filing he had been told Treasury was preparing 1,300 layoff notices. Those layoffs could hit the tax-collecting Internal Revenue Service, which has been targeted for steep job cuts this year. Some 46 percent of the agency's 78,000 employees were furloughed on Oct. 8.

Officials also confirmed job cuts at the Education Department, which Trump has vowed to shutter completely, and the Commerce Department, which handles weather forecasting, economic data reports, and other duties.

Other media outlets reported layoffs at the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy, the Department of the Interior, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Spokespeople at those agencies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Homeland Security Department said layoffs were taking place at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which incurred Trump's wrath after the 2020 election when its director said there was no evidence voting systems were compromised. Trump falsely claims that he lost that election to Democrat Joe Biden due to voter fraud.

"This is part of getting CISA back on mission," DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said.

The Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration are not affected, according to a source familiar with the situation.