The White House budget office is instructing federal agencies to prepare reduction-in-force (RIF) plans for mass firings during a possible government shutdown, specifically targeting employees who work for programs that are not legally required to continue.
In a recently released memo, the Office of Management and Budget told agencies to consider RIF notices for all “employees in programs, projects, or activities (PPAs) that satisfy all three of the following conditions: (1) discretionary funding lapses on October 1, 2025; (2) another source of funding, such as H.R. 1 (Public Law 119-21) is not currently available; and (3) the PPA is not consistent with the President’s priorities.”
These RIF notices will be in addition to any furlough notices sent out as a result of a potential shutdown. Furthermore, the memo stipulates that once FY26 appropriations are enacted, agencies should “revise their RIFs as needed to retain the minimal number of employees necessary to carry out statutory functions.”
During previous shutdowns, the government has issued temporary furloughs to most federal employees, bringing them back once Congress voted to reopen the government. This time, however, the Trump Administration is using the threat of permanent job cuts as leverage, seeking to make a potential shutdown as painful as possible for congressional Democrats. Agencies have been instructed to submit their proposed RIF plans to OMB and to issue notices to employees whose jobs may be cut.
According to Politico, a number of programs will continue regardless of a shutdown, including “Social Security, Medicare, veterans benefits, military operations, law enforcement, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection and air traffic control.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who voted with Republicans in March to keep the government funded, is holding firm in his opposition to the Republican funding plan. Schumer faced considerable criticism from the party base after his decision in March, which he claimed was aimed at preventing the very dismantling of federal agencies proposed by this memo. This time around, however, Schumer says he has revised that view, arguing that the administration’s attacks on federal agencies “will get worse with or without [a shutdown], because Trump is lawless.”
The memo states that RIF plans submitted to OMB will not be implemented if the government receives funding by September 30. That outcome, however, appears increasingly unlikely.