Russell Vought, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, has made headlines in recent days with aggressive federal workforce reduction announcements. On Friday, Vought announced that reduction in force notices, commonly called RIFs, have begun across multiple federal agencies. In a social media post on X, he simply stated "The RIFs have begun," signaling the start of what he described as substantial layoffs.The Trump administration estimates these layoffs will exceed ten thousand federal employees. Vought indicated to House Republicans on Wednesday that the reductions would be coming within a day or two, and the timeline accelerated quickly. The Department of Health and Human Services is being hit particularly hard with between eleven hundred to twelve hundred employees receiving reduction notices. The Department of Education is also affected with four hundred sixty six employees facing layoffs.An OMB spokesperson confirmed to NPR that the reduction in force process was underway and substantial but declined to provide complete details on affected numbers initially. Vought stressed that while these were the most current figures available, the situation remained fluid and rapidly evolving, suggesting more reductions could follow.The administration has attributed these layoffs to the government shutdown caused by Democratic demands for extended health care subsidies. However, the timing has drawn scrutiny from federal judges. United States District Judge Susan Illston had ordered the Trump administration to detail any currently planned or in progress reduction notices during the shutdown, and a court hearing was scheduled for the following Wednesday to address the legality of these actions.The American Federation of Government Employees strongly opposed the announcements, with National President Everett Kelley calling the move disgraceful and arguing the administration was illegally firing thousands of workers providing critical services to communities. Rachel Gittleman, president of AFGE Local two fifty two, condemned what she called illegal dismantling of the Department of Education against congressional intent.Notably, even some Republicans expressed concern. Senator Susan Collins stated she strongly opposed Vought's attempt to permanently lay off furloughed federal workers, arguing their work is incredibly important to serving the public regardless of their furlough status.The announcements represent a continuation of the Department of Government Efficiency effort that began when Trump took office in January, though many agencies that previously implemented layoffs at DOGE's direction have since hired workers back due to inability to perform basic tasks.Thank you for tuning in to this update. Please subscribe for more current news and information. This has been a Quiet Please production. For more, check out Quiet Please dot AI.For more http://www.quietplease.aiGet the best deals https://amzn.to/3ODvOtaThis content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI

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