Trump admin federal job cuts likely to be ‘north of 10,000,’ Vought says

WASHINGTON: The Trump administration could slash more than 10,000 federal jobs during the government shutdown, White House budget director Russell Vought said Wednesday.

“We want to be very aggressive where we can be in shuttering the bureaucracy, not just the funding,” said Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget.

“We now have an opportunity to do that, and that’s where we’re going to be looking for our opportunities,” he said during an appearance on “The Charlie Kirk Show,” which was broadcasting from the White House.

The comments came shortly before a federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from firing federal workers during the shutdown.

Vought listed a number of government entities that could be targeted for cuts, including so-called Green New Deal programs at the Department of Energy and environmental justice efforts at the Environmental Protection Agency. He also pointed to the Commerce Department’s Minority Business Development Agency and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, known as CISA.

Vought also said he aims to close the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which he currently leads as acting director, within “the next two, three months.”

He said that the agency has “the DNA of [Democratic Sen.] Elizabeth Warren,” and that it has tried to “weaponize” the law against small financial institutions.

The Trump administration has warned that the shutdown, which has now stretched into its third week with no end in sight, will lead to mass firings of federal workers.

The White House said it sent layoff announcements, known as reduction-in-force notices or RIFs, to around 4,200 federal employees on Friday. That number was revised slightly downward on Tuesday.

But Vought, in Wednesday’s talk show appearance, said he expects the number of RIFs to grow.

“It could grow higher,” he said. “I think we’ll probably end up being north of 10,000.”

The White House has shared its rolling RIF estimates in court documents as part of a federal lawsuit filed by unions representing government workers who are challenging the Trump administration’s cuts.

In a hearing Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston issued a temporary restraining order blocking the firings for now.

“The activities that are being undertaken here are contrary to the laws,” Illston told lawyers for the administration as she issued the order, according to NBC News.

The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

Vought said the RIF numbers provided in the lawsuit are “just a snapshot.”

“I think it’ll get much higher, and we’re going to keep those RIFs rolling throughout this shutdown, because we think it’s important,” he said.

Government employees who are furloughed during the shutdown, as well as those deemed “excepted” who are still required to work, are going without pay while the lapse in federal funds drags on.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday afternoon issued a presidential memorandum directing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to use any remaining congressional funds to continue to pay active-duty military personnel.

Courtesy: CNBC news