White House instructs agencies to prepare layoff plans for government shutdown

The White House's Budget Office has instructed federal agencies to prepare plans for mass layoffs in the event of a potential government shutdown. The directive focuses on employees who support programs that are not legally required to continue. Politico has obtained a memo showing that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) plans to permanently reduce the government workforce in the event of a shutdown. According to the memo, OMB urged agencies to identify programs, projects, and activities where available funds will expire on October 1 and no alternative source of funding is available. OMB advised agencies to develop plans for workforce reductions to eliminate positions in programs that do not align with President Donald Trump's priorities - going beyond the usual furloughs. In previous shutdowns, most furloughs were temporary, and employees were rehired after Congress passed a budget and restored funding. However, in this case, OMB Director Russell Vought is escalating the conflict with Democrats in Congress over budget spending by threatening permanent job cuts. "Programs that have not received mandatory funding will be particularly affected in the event of a shutdown," the OMB memo states. Agencies were instructed to inform all employees, including those who are normally excused or furloughed, and submit their planned workforce reduction measures to OMB.