Anticipated RIF list discloses limited fresh insights into government departments' shrinking strategies
The Trump administration's planned reductions in federal workforce, initiated under Executive Order 14210, are largely moving forward following key court decisions, though some adjustments and legal constraints remain.
In a significant development, the U.S. Supreme Court recently lifted injunctions that had blocked the administration's efforts, allowing layoffs at the Department of Education and other major agencies to proceed while legal challenges continue. This ruling enabled the administration to lay off nearly 1,400 employees at the Department of Education, as planned.
Similarly, departments such as State, Health and Human Services, and others have advanced their reductions in force (RIFs). However, some agencies have walked back certain layoffs due to factors like natural attrition or incentive programs, while others have proceeded fully or partially with RIFs.
The administration has disclosed detailed RIF plans at 17 agencies, and a judge is currently reviewing the legality of these plans on an agency-by-agency basis. The list of federal agencies involved in these RIFs includes the General Services Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Department of Treasury, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Interior, Department of Transportation, Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, U.S. Agency for Global Media, Department of Commerce, Department of Labor, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Institute of Museum and Library Services, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for Humanities, Department of State, U.S. African Development Foundation, Woodrow Wilson Center, and the U.S. African Development Foundation.
The court has ordered the government to provide copies of the plans for private review, and while the government has appealed this order, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has temporarily paused it. It's important to note that some agencies may have decided not to proceed with RIFs due to developments since May 9.
Despite the administration's efforts to keep details about the RIFs secret, claiming they were predecisional documents, the court has found that the final versions of the ARRPs at the 17 agencies are not covered by the deliberative process privilege. The government has no central count of how many employees were involved in RIFs under the Executive Order.
The current status of the federal agencies' RIF efforts can be summarized as follows: mostly underway following Supreme Court clearance, but with agency-specific variations and continuing litigation. Legal challenges remain ongoing, with courts scrutinizing RIF plans individually, especially where separate injunctions or lawsuits apply.
Politics surrounding the Trump administration's policy-and-legislation on reducing the federal workforce, as outlined in Executive Order 14210, have been prominent in the general-news due to ongoing court decisions and legal challenges. The current status of these reductions in force (RIFs) at multiple federal agencies like the General Services Administration, Department of Education, Department of State, and U.S. Department of Agriculture, among others, is being closely monitored, with varying outcomes such as complete or partial RIFs, or postponements due to factors like natural attrition.
