WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump's administration made good on a threat to fire thousands of federal workers, with agencies sending "reduction in force" notifications to federal workers heading into the weekend.
Trump had threatened mass firings for almost two weeks, if Democrats did not agree to his terms to fund the government, when his administration pulled the trigger on the eleventh day of the federal shutdown.The president said the layoffs hit "Democrat-oriented" areas of the government, without saying how many people had been fired.
"It will be a lot of people, all because of the Democrats," Trump told reporters on Oct. 10 in the Oval Office, as he tried to pin the blame for the shutdown on the opposing political party.
The Trump administration said about 4,000 federal workers had so far received RIF notices. The figure was detailed in a court document the Justice Department submitted in response to a lawsuit from unions representing government workers. But additional layoffs are coming, a senior administration official told USA TODAY.
The firings came under criticism from Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine who is up for reelection next year.
"Regardless of whether federal employees have been working without pay or have been furloughed, their work is incredibly important to serving the public," Collins said in a statement. "Arbitrary layoffs result in a lack of sufficient personnel needed to conduct the mission of the agency and to deliver essential programs, and cause harm to families in Maine and throughout our country.”
Follow along with TRENDING NEWS USA for live updates.
Why did the U.S. government shut down?
Democrats and Republicans cannot agree on passing a bill funding government services through October, resulting in a shutdown.
But the specific reason for the 11-day deadlock is a battle over federal subsidies for health insurance.
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