Over the last few days, Russ Vought, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, emerged at the center of an unprecedented government response during the ongoing federal shutdown. The most notable headline involves the announcement of mass layoffs instead of the traditional furloughs, targeting several federal agencies. According to posts on the social site X, Vought declared that reductions in force, known as RIFs, have started, ending the careers of more than 4,000 federal workers across departments such as Treasury, Education, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Commerce, Homeland Security, and the Environmental Protection Agency. These moves go far beyond prior shutdowns, where layoffs were avoided and employees were often reinstated after the closure ended.
Major decisions made under Vought’s direction include freezing or eliminating nearly thirty billion dollars in federal projects stretched across regions represented by Democratic lawmakers. This includes infrastructure and climate funding, with projects such as New York’s Hudson Tunnel and Chicago’s Red Line Extension placed on indefinite hold. Vought is reported to have driven the administration’s aggressive actions in line with the vision outlined in Project 2025, which advocates permanent cuts to federal programs seen by the White House as misaligned with current priorities. Perhaps most controversial is the complete abolishment of the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, effectively terminating staff dedicated to serving underserved communities.
Vought’s role has been repeatedly cited in political battles, with Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer accusing him and President Trump of using average Americans as pawns to pressure Democrats into ending the shutdown. Republican leadership has been split, with some endorsing Vought’s hardline approach as necessary leverage, while others, such as Senator Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, have publicly denounced the firings as punitive and poorly timed.
During this period, Vought has been active in defending the administration’s approach, emphasizing that the RIFs not only reduce government size as promised but ensure taxpayer dollars are not funding programs the administration considers unconstitutional, race-based, or political scams. Staff working in areas like cybersecurity, special education, infrastructure security, and financial services have been among those most affected. At the White House, talks with Congress remain stalled, prolonged and with few signs of compromise on core issues such as health care funding and climate initiatives.
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