​Federal Agencies Planning For Firings Ahead Of Potential Shutdown: What To Know In MA

MASSACHUSETTS — A memo from the White House telling federal agencies to draft mass firing plans ahead of a potential government shutdown next week could mean an untold number of government workers in Massachusetts could be fired.

The government will shut down at midnight Tuesday if Congress fails to pass a temporary spending bill to fund the government through Nov. 21. It passed the House, but in the Senate, where 60 votes are needed for approval, both GOP and Democratic proposals were rejected.

The Office of Management and Budget’s Wednesday night memo, first reported by Politico, said agencies should consider a reduction in force for federal programs whose funding would lapse next week, is not otherwise funded and is “not consistent with the President's priorities.”

The memo means the affected federal workers would not only be laid off, but also lose their jobs. That’s a more aggressive approach than in previous shutdowns, when federal workers not deemed essential were furloughed but returned to their jobs once Congress approved spending.

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It’s unclear what agencies would be affected, but Politico said its source from the OMB said programs that will continue regardless of a shutdown include Social Security, Medicare, veterans benefits, military operations, law enforcement, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, and air traffic control.

Once any potential government shutdown ends, agencies are asked to revise their reduction-in-force plans “as needed to retain the minimal number of employees necessary to carry out statutory functions,” according to the memo.

“Programs that did not benefit from an infusion of mandatory appropriations will bear the brunt of a shutdown,” OMB wrote in the memo.

The memo noted that congressional Democrats are refusing to support a clean government funding bill “due to their partisan demands,” which include an extension of enhanced health insurance subsidies set to expire at the end of the year, plus a reversal of Medicaid cuts that were included in Republicans' big tax and spending cuts law.

"As such, it has never been more important for the Administration to be prepared for a shutdown if the Democrats choose to pursue one,” the memo reads, which also notes that the GOP's signature law, a major tax and border spending package, gives “ample resources to ensure that many core Trump Administration priorities will continue uninterrupted.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries have kept nearly all of their Democratic lawmakers united in demanding immediate improvements to health care in exchange for their votes.

In statements issued shortly after the memo was released, the two Democrats showed no signs of budging.

"We will not be intimidated by your threat to engage in mass firings," Jeffries wrote in a post on X. "Get lost."

Schumer said in a statement that the OMB memo is an “attempt at intimidation” and predicted the “unnecessary firings will either be overturned in court or the administration will end up hiring the workers back.”

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Massachusetts Congressman Jim McGovern said he would not sign the bill to fund the government due to what it could take funding away from.

“I’m not going to vote on a bill that cuts SNAP by $200 billion or cuts Medicaid by a trillion dollars that takes away people’s healthcare, that takes away money,” McGovern said in an interview.

“We are on the verge of a government shutdown because Republicans refuse to fix the healthcare emergency in America,” Senator Elizabeth Warren said in a video earlier this month. “If Republicans want our votes for this budget, they have to restore healthcare for millions of Americans.”

President Donald Trump on Tuesday abruptly canceled this week’s planned meeting with congressional Democratic leaders, refusing to negotiate over their demands.

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The Associated Press contributed reporting.