On Wednesday, the White House budget office suggested that mass firings might occur if a government shutdown takes place, as Congress struggles with deadlocked negotiations just days ahead of the funding deadline.
A memo from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), reviewed by The Hill, advises agencies to “consider reduction in force (RIF) notices for all employees in programs, projects, or activities” if three specific conditions are met.
The conditions require that discretionary funding lapses occur on Oct. 1, no other funding sources are available, and the programs, projects, or activities do not align with the president’s priorities. All these conditions must be satisfied to proceed with firings.
Politico first reported on the memo.
Additionally, agencies are instructed to revise RIFs once a shutdown concludes to keep only the necessary number of employees, as stated in the memo, and a corresponding plan must be submitted to OMB.
This memo essentially advises agencies to permanently dismiss some federal employees who would typically be furloughed during a shutdown but return to work once the government is reopened by Congress.
With less than a week until the Sept. 30 shutdown deadline, there is little sign of progress in negotiations. Republicans are holding firm on their demand for a seven-week “clean” stopgap package, while Democrats are focused on protecting Affordable Care Act subsidies, opposed by President Trump.
A meeting between the Trump and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) has effectively been cancelled over the dueling demands.
The OMB memo crticizes congressional Democrats for “signaling that they intend to break this bipartisan trend and shut down the government in the coming days over a series of insane demands, including $1 trillion in new spending.”
“The Administration supports Senate passage of H.R. 5371, but congressional Democrats are currently blocking this clean CR due to their partisan demands,” the memo said. “As such, it has never been more important for the Administration to be prepared for a shutdown if the Democrats choose to pursue one.”
