The Trump administration disclosed in court on Friday that over 4,000 federal employees were let go, casualties of the ongoing partial government shutdown.
According to the court filing in the Northern District of California—where federal employee unions are suing to block the Trump administration’s cuts—these mass layoffs will hit workers across at least seven Cabinet-level agencies.
The hardest hit were the Treasury Department and the Department of Health and Human Services, where roughly 1,446 and up to 1,200 employees, respectively, were abruptly let go.
The Department of Education cut 466 jobs, Housing and Urban Development let go 442 employees, Commerce terminated 315, Energy cut 187, and Homeland Security laid off 176 workers.
The US Capitol building on Oct. 10, 2025, during the partial government shutdown. AP
The Justice Department filing also reveals that other agencies have sent out a general "intent to RIF" notice, signaling more layoffs could be on the way.
The Environmental Protection Agency, for instance, has warned roughly 20 to 30 employees that they could face future layoffs.
On October 1, the United States Patent and Trademark Office sent shutdown-related RIF notices to 126 employees, signaling more job cuts amid the ongoing federal funding freeze.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson speak at the US Capitol on Oct. 10, 2025. Getty Images
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer speaks outside the White House on Sept. 29, 2025. ZUMAPRESS.com
“Other Defendant agencies (in addition to some of those agencies identified above) are actively considering whether to conduct additional RIFs related to the ongoing lapse in appropriations,” the DOJ wrote in the filing.
“Other Defendant agencies have made predecisional assessments regarding offices and subdivisions that may be considered for potential RIFs based on the criteria outlined in the OPM Lapse Email. But those assessments remain under deliberation and are not final,” the document noted.
The US Department of the Treasury. ABC News
The Trump administration argued that because the RIF notices mandate a 30- to 60-day separation period-the standard notice the government must give federal employees before officially letting them go-a temporary restraining order to block the layoffs is unnecessary.
“Plaintiffs fail to establish irreparable harm,” the DOJ argued. “Their asserted harms — which stem from future loss of federal employment — would not take place until weeks or months from now, if at all.”
District Judge Susan Illston, appointed by former President Bill Clinton, has scheduled a hearing next Thursday to review the labor unions’ request for a temporary restraining order.
Friday marked the 10th day of the government shutdown, with no end in sight.
House Speaker Mike Johnson at to press conference in the US Capitol on Oct. 10, 2025. WILL OLIVER/EPA/Shutterstock
Earlier Friday, White House budget director Russ Vought announced that permanent job cuts had begun, following Senate Democrats’ repeated block of a short-term funding bill that would have reopened the government.
“The RIFs have begun,” Vought wrote on X.
The Post previously reported that the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), part of DHS, plans to lay off up to 2,540 employees and furlough 65% of its workforce as part of a RIF.
