White House budget office says layoffs are ‘substantial’
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) spokesperson told the Guardian that the reductions in force that have begun are “substantial”.
The official didn’t confirm an exact number, but we’re bringing you the latest as we hear from different agencies and departments about how they stand to be affected.
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The Department of Education has also confirmed to the Guardian that their employees will be impacted by the reductions in force.
ShareWhite House budget office says layoffs are ‘substantial’
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) spokesperson told the Guardian that the reductions in force that have begun are “substantial”.
The official didn’t confirm an exact number, but we’re bringing you the latest as we hear from different agencies and departments about how they stand to be affected.
ShareTreasury department confirms that RIFs have begun
A treasury department spokesperson confirms to the Guardian that mass layoffs have started. They did not comment on the scale of the firings.
Donald Trump has returned from his visit to Walter Reed medical center for his “semi-annual physical”. He didn’t take questions from reporters on his way back to the White House.
We’re due to hear from him at 5pm ET in the Oval Office for an announcement about lowering the cost of drug prices.
Updated at 14.54 EDT
DHS says layoffs will happen at cybersecurity agency
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson has told the Guardian that reductions in force (RIFs) will happen at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) while the government shutdown continues.
“During the last administration CISA was focused on censorship, branding and electioneering. This is part of getting CISA back on mission,” the spokesperson said.
ShareTrump to host summit on Gaza with world leaders during Egypt visit – report
Donald Trump plans to hold a summit of world leaders on Gaza, during his visit to Egypt next week, according to Axios.
Citing four sources with knowledge of the plans, Axios reports that the summit is being organized by Egyptian president Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, who has already reached out to several European and Arab leaders with invitations. According to a US official, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not be present, and the meeting will likely take place on Tuesday in Sharm-el-sheikh, but could be moved to Monday, according to Axios’ sources.
A reminder that Trump is set to address Israel’s Knesset on Monday, before travelling to Egypt.
Updated at 14.14 EDT
Here’s a recap of the day so far
The White House announced layoffs of federal workers are to come as the government shutdown continues. In an ominous post on social media, budget chief Russ Vought wrote that “reductions in force” (laying off federal workers) have begun, as the shutdown enters its 10th day.
On Capitol Hill, the impasse continues, as House speaker Mike Johnson said the lower chamber won’t return until the Senate decides to ‘turn the lights back on’. Republican leadership continued to lambast Democrats, blaming them for the shutdown and saying that a separate bill to keep members of the military paid was redundant since the House-passed legislation – which has stalled in the upper chamber seven times – would reopen the government. “We have voted so many times to pay the troops. We’ve already done it. We did it in the house three weeks ago, the ball is in the court of Senate Democrats right now,” Johnson added.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has become the first of nine universities to reject an agreement that would exchange adoption of the Trump administration’s higher education agenda for favorable treatment and funding. Sally Kornbluth, the MIT president, wrote to the Trump administration to say that “the university has already freely met or exceeded many of the standards outlined in the proposal, but that she disagrees with other requirements it demands, including those that would restrict free expression”.
We’re waiting to hear the ruling from a federal court in San Francisco, over Trump’s deployment of troops to Portland, Oregon. Three appellate judges heard arguments on Thursday and seemed more likely to rule in Trump’s favor than the decision by a federal judge in Chicago, who blocked troops from deploying to the windy city. The administration has said it plans to appeal the ruling.
One note on the announced layoffs of government workers. A federal judge will actually hear arguments next week over the legality of the reductions in force during the shutdown. This comes after the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) sued the administration over the layoff threat earlier this week.
The AFGE is the largest union representing federal workers.
Updated at 14.50 EDT
US government workforce cuts have begun, OMB chief says
Donald Trump’s White House budget chief, Russ Vought, just ominously posted on X that “reductions in force” (laying off federal workers) have begun, as the government shutdown enters its 10th day. He offered no further details, but we’ll bring you more as soon as we get it.
Updated at 12.41 EDT
MIT becomes first university to reject White House offer for special funding treatment
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has become the first university to reject an agreement that would exchange adoption of the Trump administration’s higher education agenda for favorable treatment and funding.
The administration’s proposal – the “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education” – was sent to nine universities and set out a list of requirements including a cap international student enrollment, freezing tuition for five years, adhering to definitions of gender and creating a more “welcoming” environment on campuses for conservatives. Doing so would give the institutions preferential access to federal funding.
Sally Kornbluth, the MIT president, wrote to the Trump administration to say that “the university has already freely met or exceeded many of the standards outlined in the proposal, but that she disagrees with other requirements it demands, including those that would restrict free expression”.
She added:
Fundamentally, the premise of the document is inconsistent with our core belief that scientific funding should be based on scientific merit alone.
The other eight colleges are the University of Arizona, Brown University, Dartmouth College, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Southern California, the University of Texas, Vanderbilt University and the University of Virginia.
Updated at 13.29 EDT
National guard troops seen on Memphis streets as Trump faces legal challenges
National guard troops were seen patrolling in Memphis for the first time on Friday, as part of Donald Trump’s controversial federal taskforce, amid fierce legal challenges as he was blocked from sending troops to Chicago and a court ruling is awaited in Portland, Oregon.
At least nine national guard troops began their Tennessee patrol at the Bass Pro Shops, an outdoor gear chain, located at the Pyramid, a commercial landmark in Memphis. They were being escorted by a Memphis police officer and posed for photos with visitors who were standing outside.
It was unclear how many federalized troops were on the ground or were expected to arrive later.
Members of the national guard patrol outside a Bass Pro Shops in Memphis, Tennessee, on Friday. Photograph: George Walker IV/AP
During an NAACP Memphis forum on Wednesday, Memphis’s police chief, Cerelyn “CJ” Davis, had said she hoped guard personnel would help direct traffic and have a presence in “retail corridors”, but not be used to operate checkpoints or anything similar – the kind of situation Washington DC experienced.
Memphis authorities did not request federal troops but Tennessee’s Republican governor, Bill Lee, supports the move by the White House.
Read the full story here:
ShareUS immigration enforcement using military hardware and tactics on civilians
George Chidi
Even without the national guard, law enforcement agencies of the federal government have been using military hardware and tactics on civilian targets.
At a low-rent apartment complex on Chicago’s south shore, people started hearing the boots hit the roof around one in the morning. The oh-dark-thirty immigration enforcement raid in the early hours of 1 October featured an air assault from helicopters. Officers went door to door in the building, using charges to blow the hinges off doors and flashbang grenades to clear apartments. They hauled men, women and children from the building in zip ties and often little else, ostensibly to capture undocumented gang members.
The troubled apartment building at 7500 S South Shore Drive hadn’t passed an annual inspection since 2022. With the remains of doors and furniture and the bloodied, scattered belongings of former tenants in tatters, it may struggle to pass another.
“So many of these people remain without shelter or a place to live because it essentially rendered their homes and that entire apartment complex uninhabitable,” said Colleen Connell, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois. She described the apartment raid as a military-style attack. Days afterward, the building looked like a war zone, which may be the point.
Read more of George’s report below.