The Trump administration made a seismic move Friday, firing more than 4,000 federal employees as the government shutdown entered its tenth day—marking one of the most significant and aggressive reductions in federal workforce in modern memory. The move wasn’t announced with a press conference or a primetime address. Instead, it was buried inside a Justice Department court filing, quietly confirming that the reduction-in-force (RIF) orders had been triggered across at least seven Cabinet-level agencies.
For context, these aren’t furloughs. These are full-on terminations—pink slips, desk cleanouts, security badges surrendered. The hardest hit? The Treasury Department, which shed 1,446 employees. The Department of Health and Human Services followed closely with 1,200 job cuts. Education lost 466, HUD let go of 442, and even the Department of Homeland Security cut 176 positions.
4,000 federal workers fired due to ongoing government shutdown https://t.co/ksPTYqQjfZ pic.twitter.com/tWAPZ0KR53
— New York Post (@nypost) October 11, 2025
Federal employee unions—already suing the administration to stop the layoffs—discovered the magnitude of the cuts through that same lawsuit, filed in the Northern District of California. They’re now scrambling for a temporary restraining order, with Judge Susan Illston scheduling a hearing for next Thursday.
But the Trump administration is unfazed.
White House budget director Russ Vought confirmed the cuts with brutal clarity, writing on X: “The RIFs have begun,” after Senate Democrats blocked the GOP’s clean funding resolution. He wasn’t bluffing. The layoffs are just the beginning, with the Office of Management and Budget warning that even more job cuts are in the pipeline. The filing, they explained, was just a “snapshot in time.” Translation: the axe is still swinging.
And the legal defense? Surprisingly airtight. The DOJ argues that most employees won’t be officially separated for 30 to 60 days, meaning there’s no “irreparable harm” yet. In other words, the courts can’t stop what hasn’t technically happened—yet.
But the broader implications are undeniable.
This is a clear message from President Trump: if Democrats won’t come to the table, if they continue to hold the government hostage over demands like $1.5 trillion in healthcare for illegal immigrants and NPR funding, then the administration will do what D.C. insiders never imagined—start clearing house.
This isn’t business as usual. This is a hard reset.
