Democrats are floating another demand to end the federal shutdown — forcing the Trump administration to rehire thousands of nonessential federal workers it has laid off, Politico reported Wednesday.
The reductions in force, or RIFs, affecting up to 10,000 federal workers were initiated in response to the shutdown over Democrat demands to roll back $1.6 trillion in Medicaid and other healthcare reforms included in the big, beautiful bill that Republicans passed months ago, which also provided free emergency care for illegal immigrants.
Democrats are also demanding that Republicans address the expiring Obamacare subsidies — which don’t lapse until Dec. 31 — as another condition to end the shutdown.
By forcing the shutdown, Democrats handed the executive branch an opportunity to thin out the federal workforce of nonessential employees.
Now Democrats are decrying the very climate they created, according to the report.
“I think not just RIF removals, but the treatment of federal workers should be part of these negotiations,” Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, D-Va., said, according to the report. “They have nothing to do with the shutdown though.”
“And they’re using this as an excuse to fire people that they were already going to fire.”
White House budget director Russell Vought said Wednesday that more than 10,000 government employees could be laid off as the shutdown wears on.
Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said talks over reversing the RIFs “certainly should be on the table,” but added that he expects the courts will ultimately overturn them.
A federal judge Wednesday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s administration from firing workers during the government shutdown, saying the cuts appeared to be politically motivated and were being carried out without much thought.
More than 4,100 layoff notices have gone out since Friday.
“The president is doing what he needs to do,” Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., said during a telephone town hall Tuesday. “He said that what we’re going to do is start laying off federal workers — not furloughing them, but laying them off.”
He said Trump was “delivering on the government efficiency promises that he made when he ran for office.”
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