Saturday, March 29, 2025
The 10-day-long U.S. government shutdown has begun to take a heavy toll on federal employees, with large-scale layoffs announced by the Trump administration. Officials confirmed that multiple government departments have started issuing termination notices, escalating pressure on Democratic lawmakers to agree to a deal that would end the shutdown.
According to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), agencies have been directed to notify courts about the number of employees being dismissed. On social media platform X, the OMB Director wrote, “Workforce reductions have started. If the shutdown continues, as many as 4,000 federal employees could lose their jobs.”
Reports suggest that the Treasury Department is expected to suffer the most job losses, with around 1,400 employees at risk. The Department of Health and Human Services may cut another 1,000 jobs, while the Education and Housing and Urban Development Departments together could lose about 400 positions. Hundreds more layoffs are expected across other agencies.
Traditionally, federal employees are not permanently fired during shutdowns. Instead, they are placed on temporary unpaid leave and return to work once government operations resume. However, this time officials indicated that as many as 75,000 workers may be furloughed, sparking criticism from Democrats, who called the move “unfair and unnecessary.”
The shutdown has paralyzed Congress, suspending legislative sessions and restricting lawmakers’ access to Capitol Hill. Republicans, who hold the majority in Congress, argue that the shutdown strengthens their negotiating power by blocking Democratic demands for immediate funding of healthcare subsidies.
Democrats, however, remain defiant. They insist that they are standing firm to protect Americans from soaring healthcare costs and blame President Donald Trump for the shutdown’s fallout.
With both sides entrenched, federal employees face deep uncertainty, mounting financial strain, and the threat of permanent job losses if the deadlock continues.
