With the deadline to fund the federal government days away, the White House budget office has reportedly now circulated a memo suggesting that permanent staff reductions could accompany a shutdown — a move that has heightened tensions in an already fraught standoff between President Trump and congressional Democrats.
The document, first reported by Politico, directs agencies to “use this opportunity to consider reduction in force (RIF) notices for all employees in programs, projects, or activities” if three conditions are met: discretionary funding lapses on October 1, no other source of funding is available, and the work at issue is not “consistent with the president’s priorities.”
According to the memo, agencies would also be required to revise RIFs once a shutdown ends in order to retain only the “minimal number” of employees needed to function.
In practice, this could mean that instead of temporary furloughs, which traditionally end when Congress approves a funding measure, certain positions could be eliminated altogether.
The Office of Management and Budget framed the directive as a necessary contingency plan in light of what it described as Democratic intransigence. “The Administration supports Senate passage of H.R. 5371, but congressional Democrats are currently blocking this clean CR due to their partisan demands,” the memo said. “As such, it has never been more important for the Administration to be prepared for a shutdown if the Democrats choose to pursue one.”
The memo further criticized Democrats for “signaling that they intend to break this bipartisan trend and shut down the government in the coming days over a series of insane demands, including $1 trillion in new spending.”
Negotiations show few signs of progress, with Tuesday’s shutdown deadline fast approaching. Republicans, led by the White House, have insisted on a seven-week “clean” stopgap measure to keep the government running.
Democrats, meanwhile, are holding out for provisions to protect subsidies under the Affordable Care Act — subsidies President Trump has repeatedly denounced.
The stalemate has already upended scheduled talks. A planned meeting between Mr. Trump, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, also of New York, was effectively canceled amid the impasse.
The prospect of a shutdown carries heavy consequences for millions of federal workers and the operations of government agencies.
But the OMB’s guidance suggests the administration is prepared not only to endure a lapse in funding but also to use it as an opportunity to reshape the federal workforce along the president’s priorities.
Republicans argue that Democrats are risking the livelihoods of federal employees by insisting on what they see as extraneous demands.
The OMB memo positions the White House as the party seeking stability and continuity through a straightforward extension of funding.
Democrats, it contends, are the ones prepared to shutter the government in pursuit of sweeping new spending commitments.
As both sides dig in, federal workers now face the uncertainty of whether a shutdown would mean only a temporary furlough — or, as the OMB memo makes clear, the possibility of permanent dismissal.
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