federal employees

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Shutdown Talks May Be Finally Starting to Thaw

Hopes emerge of a deal next week

(Newser) - Is a thaw underway in shutdown talks? The Hill reports that Senate Republicans and Democrats are quietly searching for a way out as early as next week. Semafor similarly reports on an "unmistakable shift" below the leadership level, and the outlet also sees next week as a distinct possibility....

Shutdown Burns $7B a Month, CBO Warns Lawmakers

Agency says billions in lost GDP won't be recovered

(Newser) - The ongoing federal government shutdown is delivering a $7 billion monthly blow to the US economy, according to a new estimate from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. In a letter to lawmakers, the CBO projected that a four-week shutdown, a mark reached Wednesday, would shrink real GDP by $7 billion,...

Judge Blocks Mass Layoffs During Government Shutdown
Judge Extends Block on
Trump's Shutdown Layoffs
UPDATED
Oct 28, 2025 4:12 PM CDT

Judge Extends Block on Trump's Shutdown Layoffs

Injunction bans administration from firing federal employees while shutdown continues

(Newser) - A federal judge in San Francisco on Tuesday indefinitely barred the Trump administration from firing federal employees during the government shutdown, saying that labor unions were likely to prevail on their claims that the cuts were arbitrary and politically motivated. US District Judge Susan Illston granted a preliminary injunction that...

This Now the Third-Longest Shutdown in History

Nov. 1 might be a pivotal day

(Newser) - The government shutdown entered its 20th day on Monday, making it the third-longest in US history, reports NBC News . Only the shutdowns of 2018-2019 (35 days) and 1995-96 (21 days) lasted longer, and Punchbowl News notes that those were partial shutdowns in comparison to the current full shutdown. It's...

White House Memo Casts Doubt on Shutdown Back Pay

Memo challenges 2019 law seen as backstop for furloughed workers

(Newser) - A new draft memo from the White House's budget office says furloughed federal workers aren't automatically entitled to back pay after the current government shutdown—contradicting widespread assumptions and prior guidance from other parts of the administration. The memo obtained by the Washington Post argues that the...

Some Republicans Question WH Budget Chief's Shutdown Plans

GOP and Democrats spar over blame as layoffs loom

(Newser) - As the government shutdown drags on, Senate Majority Leader John Thune warns Democrats that the real risk may be the unchecked power of White House budget chief Russ Vought, whose aggressive plans could reshape the federal workforce. Thune, not exactly a fan of Vought's "slash-and-burn" approach, told...

White House Making Good on Threat of Shutdown Layoffs

Federal workers and key programs face immediate risk as impasse continues

(Newser) - As threatened by the Trump administration ahead of the government shutdown, federal employees could soon face layoffs as the shutdown continues with no end yet in sight . Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought told House Republicans in a conference call Wednesday, the first day of the shutdown,...

Lake Tells 500 VOA Employees They're Laid Off

Administration's effort against news organization has been up against a federal judge

(Newser) - Kari Lake sent layoff notices to 532 employees of Voice of America and its parent agency on Friday night that said they took effect Saturday. Lake, the acting CEO of the US Agency for Global Media, said the move to initiate a reduction in force is intended to decrease...

Trump Administration Nixes an Infamous Musk Initiative

Email to federal workers asking for '5 things' they'd accomplished in previous week is axed

(Newser) - Federal workers are officially off the hook from responding to Elon Musk's "five things" email. Reuters reports that the Trump administration has nixed the ex-DOGE leader's infamous directive , which was sent to government employees in February mandating that they detail what they'd accomplished at work in...

US Is Paying 'Fired' Workers Not to Work

More than 150K will get paycheck for months, reports Washington Post

(Newser) - The Trump administration says its slashing of federal jobs this year will save money in the long run, but the Washington Post reports the cuts won't save much in the short run. The reason? The government is still paying the salaries of more than 154,000 federal employees...

Trump Expands Religious Expression for Federal Workers

New guidelines allow prayer, proselytizing on the federal clock

(Newser) - Federal workers now have broader leeway to pray and discuss their faith at the office under new guidelines from the Trump administration. The changes, outlined by the Office of Personnel Management, permit employees to share religious beliefs and try to "persuade others of the correctness of their own...

SCOTUS Clears the Way for Mass Federal Layoffs

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the only dissenter

(Newser) - The Supreme Court on Tuesday cleared the way for President Trump's plans to downsize the federal workforce despite warnings that critical government services will be lost and hundreds of thousands of federal employees will be out of their jobs. The justices overrode lower court orders that temporarily froze the...

Trump Rule Makes Civil Servants Easier to Fire

Thousands would be become 'at-will' employees

(Newser) - The Trump administration is moving to reclassify tens of thousands of career civil servants—about 2% of the federal workforce—as "at-will" employees, making them easier to fire. The Office of Personnel Management proposed the rule on Friday, the White House announced. The statement said the change would address...

National Weather Service in a 'Crisis Situation'

Job cuts by Trump administration leave nearly half of NWS' forecast hubs critically understaffed

(Newser) - After Trump administration job cuts, nearly half of the National Weather Service's forecast offices have 20% vacancy rates—twice that of just a decade ago—as severe weather chugs across the nation's heartland, per data obtained by the AP . Detailed vacancy data for all 122 weather field offices...

After Inauguration, Federal Workers' Job Searches Spiked

They're adding to an already competitive job market that could force a career change

(Newser) - Federal workers at agencies targeted by the Department of Government Efficiency are actively searching for new posts. Job applications from workers at agencies targeted by DOGE increased 52% after January and are up 75% compared with the hot hiring market of 2022, according to a report issued Tuesday by job...

Rehired Federal Workers Could Be Out of a Job Again Soon

Inefficient process brings employees back, though scores are just on leave so far

(Newser) - Judges have ordered the Trump administration to rehire thousands of probationary employees it fired, but those jobs aren't safe yet. The administration is appealing the rulings, and Axios reports those being rehired now could be the first ones out soon—through another court ruling or the next round of...

Some Federal Agencies Do U-Turn on Musk Email

Second email to federal workers has a midnight deadline

(Newser) - Federal employees face a midnight deadline to comply with Elon Musk's second demand for reports on their recent accomplishments, a request that has become a flashpoint within the government workforce. The email was sent out Friday evening.
  • Musk and President Trump have suggested that employees who don't comply
...

Memo Kickstarts Trump Plan to Get Rid of Career Officials

Federal agencies must develop plans to eliminate employee positions by March 13

(Newser) - Federal agencies must develop plans to eliminate employee positions, according to a memo distributed Wednesday by President Trump's administration that sets in motion what could become a sweeping realignment of the American government. The memo expands the Republican president's effort to downsize the federal workforce, which he has...

Atop El Capitan, a 'Signal of Dire Distress'

Frustrated staffers at Yosemite hang upside-down American flag to protest Trump workforce cuts

(Newser) - An upside-down American flag is meant as "a signal of dire distress" —and that's exactly what visitors found at California's Yosemite National Park over the weekend. It seems staffers upset about the Trump administration taking a hatchet to the federal workforce draped a giant flag from...

Trump's Response to Mass Firings: SpongeBob

President tweets meme mocking federal workers upset with DOGE-driven layoffs

(Newser) - Federal workers are still trying to make sense of an email request seemingly sent on behalf of Elon Musk's DOGE over the weekend that asked them to send five bullet points of what they'd accomplished during the previous week (followed by conflicting guidance from multiple agency heads to...

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