The White House has begun issuing reduction-in-force notices to roughly 4,000 federal employees across multiple agencies as the shutdown drags on, setting off a scramble to map the fallout for community finance, special-education oversight and pollution-prevention work. Union leaders and lawmakers warned that some of the affected offices—long backed by both parties—provide services with outsized ripple effects, the Wall Street Journal reported.
What’s happening now
RIF notices have gone out across at least a half-dozen departments, including the US Treasury, Health and Human Services, Education and the Environmental Protection Agency. The move is part of the administration’s pressure campaign in the funding standoff on Capitol Hill. US Vice President JD Vance said deeper cuts could follow if the shutdown continues.
Treasury’s CDFI fund in the crosshairs
All 83 staff at Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund received separation notices effective Dec. 13, according to congressional briefings. The fund channels capital to low-income communities and has enjoyed bipartisan support; backers point to a “multiplier effect,” with each federal dollar drawing many more from private investors.
Education: Civil-rights and special-ed capacity at risk
More than 450 Education Department jobs are targeted, concentrated in the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, the Office for Civil Rights and the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services. The National Education Association said students in high-need districts and those receiving special-education services could feel immediate impacts if oversight and grant administration stall.
EPA: Pollution-prevention and recycling programs
The EPA has issued intent-to-RIF notices for a few dozen employees tied to programs that help manufacturers reduce chemical pollution and to efforts that recycle plastics and recover critical minerals from batteries and electronics. Start dates weren’t specified. The agency said Democrats could end the shutdown and avert the outcome by advancing funding.
NOAA list prepared; CDC whiplash
NOAA previously submitted a list of about 300 potentially affected roles to the Commerce Department, though formal notices hadn’t been sent. At HHS, the CDC briefly appeared to be among the hardest hit: hundreds of employees were told Friday they were part of a RIF, then informed over the weekend that the notices were issued in error and rescinded.
The politics and the path forward
Senate Republicans failed to advance a short-term funding bill; Democrats have held back the votes needed to clear a filibuster, insisting on negotiations that include continued funding for expiring health-insurance subsidies. President Trump has framed the RIFs as falling on “Democrat-oriented” offices. On the Hill, some Republicans joined Democrats in objecting to the CDFI cuts, underscoring how the layoffs could scramble usual party lines if the shutdown persists.
What to watch
If the stalemate continues, expect more agencies to ready RIF lists, uneven service slowdowns where specialized staff are thin, and legal and logistical challenges as departments walk back erroneous notices. The longer the shutdown lasts, the harder it will be to restart grant cycles, compliance reviews and technical programs that don’t switch back on with a flip of a switch.
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