A spokesperson for the budget office, said the reductions are “substantial” but did not offer more immediate details.
WATCH: ‘Do your damn job,’ federal worker union leaders tell Congress mired in shutdown
The White House previewed that it would pursue the aggressive layoff tactic shortly before the government shutdown began on Oct. 1, telling all federal agencies to submit their reduction-in-force plans to the budget office for its review. It said reduction-in-force could apply for federal programs whose funding would lapse in a government shutdown, is otherwise not funded and is “not consistent with the President’s priorities.”
READ MORE: The full memo directing federal agencies to weigh mass layoffs if the government shuts down
This goes far beyond what usually happens in a government shutdown, which is that federal workers are furloughed but is restored to their jobs once the shutdown ends.
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