Trump officials say "substantial" federal worker layoffs have begun

The Trump administration has begun its much-anticipated layoffs of federal workers, Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought announced Friday.Why it matters: The president and Vought have repeatedly threatened to use the government shutdown to fire thousands of federal employees, who the president frequently refers to as members of the "deep state."The "reductions in force," or RIFs, is the latest blow to the federal workforce, which is already down 200,000 employees this year.Vought announced the layoffs on X, saying, "The RIFs have begun."What they're saying: "We'll be cutting very popular democrat programs that aren't popular with republicans," President Trump said Thursday at the White House.A spokesperson for the OMB confirmed the layoffs have begun and are "substantial".They declined to answer which departments were impacted. The other side: Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, denounced the planned cuts as unnecessary and out of step even with Trump's own party."No one is making Trump and Vought hurt American workers—they just want to."Zoom in: Those familiar with the layoff process say it typically takes weeks or longer to plan, and it's not clear if these firings were already in motion before the shutdown.The White House asked agencies to prepare permanent job cuts earlier this year, and some are just getting around to it.Between the lines: Lawyers who represent federal workers believe conducting firings during a shutdown is illegal, and some inside the administration reportedly agree.Using the shutdown as an excuse to layoff workers, as the White House is attempting, would lead to "confusion and litigation," economists at Evercore ISI, a Wall Street research firm, warned earlier this month. Even Trump's cabinet secretaries are wary, they said.Catch up quick: The Trump administration has been pursuing permanent layoffs all year with mixed success. They've run into roadblocks in the courts; other cases are still hanging out there.Some firings have been reversed, and some agencies have asked fired workers to come back."I don't think agency leadership actually wants to lose all these people," one employee at IRS told Axios recently.What we're watching: The American Federation of Government Employees — the largest federal employee union, representing roughly 800,000 workers — said Friday on X they've already sued the administration.The OMB has until 6pm ET Friday to respond to AFGE's suit and detail its layoff plans to the court. Go deeper: Scoop: White House memo says furloughed federal workers aren't entitled to backpayEditors note: This story has been updated throughout with additional detail.