Overview

• OMB Director Russell Vought announced “The RIFs have begun,” with initial termination notices reportedly exceeding 4,000, including roughly 1,400 at Treasury and more than 1,100 at Health and Human Services.
• The American Federation of Government Employees filed suit to block the layoffs, as legal experts note such permanent cuts during a shutdown are atypical and usually require congressional involvement.
• Roughly 750,000 federal workers are furloughed and essential staff are working without pay, with multiple airports reporting controller shortages and the FAA reducing traffic to preserve safety.
• Homeland Security confirmed a video blaming Democrats for the funding lapse is playing at U.S. airports, part of a broader White House campaign to shift responsibility for the shutdown.
• Negotiations remain stalled as Democrats tie a short-term funding bill to extending health subsidies, and some Republican senators criticized the layoff strategy as unnecessary and punitive.