MASS LAYOFFS: Thousands of federal employees have been laid off as the government shutdown approaches two full weeks, with the Trump administration following through on threats to reduce the federal workforce in an attempt to push Democrats to agree to the GOP's funding demands.
A court filing from the Department of Justice shows more than 4,100 employees were laid off on Friday from various government departments and agencies.
The White House warned that mass layoffs would happen if Democrats didn't vote for the House-passed continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government open at current spending levels until Nov. 21, but didn't immediately move on that once funding ran out at the start of October.
Some of the most significant layoffs happened at the Treasury Department, with 1,446 employees receiving reduction in force (RIF) notices Friday. More than 1,000 employees of the Department of Health and Human Services, more than 400 each at the Department of Education and Department of Housing and Urban Development, more than 300 at the Commerce Department and more than 175 each at the Energy Department and Department of Homeland Security were also affected.
A court battle had already begun even before the layoffs started. The American Federation of Government Employees, the country's largest federal employee union, sued just before the government shut down to prevent any mass layoffs.
That union and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees argue that the federal government can only furlough workers during a shutdown and not permanently eliminate their roles.
A hearing is set to take place this week on the case.
It's the latest way that the White House has tried to raise pressure on Democrats to fold and vote to reopen the government. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) both brushed off the threat after the administration's warnings, saying they expected that courts would block any layoffs or they would be reversed, as has happened during earlier rounds of layoffs.
More than 1,000 employees from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were notified that they were laid off, but the administration reportedly moved to reverse some of those notices over the weekend.
At the same time, pressure has been rising on Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to act as members of the military are currently set to miss their first paycheck if the government doesn't reopen by Wednesday. Trump directed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to use all "available funds" to pay military service members during the shutdown.
Still, a growing number of House Republicans are expressing frustration with Johnson for extending the House's recess and not bringing the body back for a legislative fix to ensure servicemembers are paid, The Hill's Mike Lillis reports.
Numerous House Republicans voiced their concerns on a conference-wide call Thursday with GOP leadership's strategy of keeping the House out of session while the shutdown continues. Lillis reports that Johnson has sent mixed messages on the issue, showing at one point last week an openness to a standalone measure on military and air traffic controller pay and later signaling the onus is on Democrats.
"We have voted so many times to pay the troops. We have already done it. We did it in the House three weeks ago," Johnson told reporters Friday. "The ball is in the court of Senate Democrats right now. That's it."
Republicans as a whole are on defense on the issue of health care, which Democrats have centered as their key sticking point in the standoff. Democrats insist the CR include an extension of expiring subsidies under the Affordable Care Act.
The Hill's Nathaniel Weixel reports that Democrats are feeling increasingly emboldened about their position and don't intend to back down as Republicans had hoped. Republicans have refused to consider Democrats' proposal, repeatedly rejecting their alternative CR.
The other effects of the shutdown are also increasingly being felt. Hundreds of Transportation Security Administration workers, who are required to continue working during the shutdown without pay, have called in sick, resulting in worsening lines at airports.
The Smithsonian Institution closed its museums, research centers and the National Zoo on Sunday after running out of funding that had allowed it to remain open for a temporary window during the government shutdown.
▪ The Hill: Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) says Trump willing to 'take the heat' on layoffs.
▪ The Hill: Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) says GOP commitment on subsidies vote not enough to reopen the government.
SOUND FAMILIAR? A prominent New Yorker is facing allegations of real estate fraud in a high-profile case that is raising accusations of a politically motivated prosecution.
That was the case with Trump two years ago when he faced a civil fraud trial against his business, the Trump Organization, leading to his being found liable for fraud and ordered to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties. The penalty was voided on appeal, but the finding against Trump and his business was upheld in August.
Now, the roles are reversed as New York Attorney General Letitia James (D), who brought the case against Trump, is facing a criminal indictment on charges of bank fraud and false statements to a financial institution. The Justice Department has accused her of mortgage fraud, stemming from the purchase of a home in Norfolk, Va., under terms that required her to use the property as a secondary residence.
But she purportedly rented it out, allowing her to save thousands of dollars during the life of a loan.
James has denied the allegations, and she and others have accused the Trump administration of political interference in the justice system. The acting U.S. attorney who brought the case against James, Lindsey Halligan, was picked by Trump after the previous prosecutor resigned amid reported pressure to bring the case against the New York Democrat.
The Trump and James cases have several key differences, including that Trump's was a civil case with a lower burden of proof required to find him liable. Trump has also been found liable in a court of law, while James's case is just beginning as an initial hearing hasn't happened yet.
But The Hill's Ella Lee reports that the parallels between the cases could both bolster Trump's efforts to discredit James and emphasize critics' accusations of the justice system being weaponized against Trump's foes.
James is the second high-profile opponent of the president's to face charges, following former FBI Director James Comey, who has pleaded not guilty to charges brought by the administration.
▪ CBS 6 Albany: Officials rally in Albany to support James.
▪ ABC News: Attorney General Pam Bondi, Justice Department officials caught off-guard by James indictment.
GUARD ON PAUSE: A federal appeals court has paused Trump's deployment of National Guard troops to Chicago as he expands his use of the military in major U.S. cities.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit restored Trump's control of the guard in Illinois but prevented him from being able to deploy troops. The lawsuit came from Gov. JB Pritzker (D) and Chicago leaders.
Pritzker pointed to Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt's (R) opposition to Texas sending National Guard troops to Illinois in tandem with Trump federalizing Illinois's troops. Stitt questioned Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's (R) decision to send about 200 troops to Chicago, raising concerns about states' rights.
"We've got to all stand together because there [are] truly unconstitutional actions that are coming out of this administration, coming at the states and the people of the United States and all of us, Democrats and Republicans, need to speak out about it," Pritzker said in an interview on ABC News's "This Week."
The move from the appeals court mirrors one from another appeals court that blocked Trump's ability to deploy troops in Portland, Ore., but reinstated his federalization of the guard.
▪ The Hill: Vice President Vance says Pritzker should 'suffer some consequences' for handling of Chicago crime.
▪ The Hill: Most states planning to withdraw troops from Washington, D.C., this fall.
▪ The Hill: National Guard troops seen patrolling Memphis streets for first time.
MTG'S ISOLATION: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has split with her party on several high-profile issues in recent months, puzzling and exasperating her fellow Republicans, The Hill's Emily Brooks reports.
Greene told Brooks that she hasn't changed since her first run for Congress in 2020.
"I am 100 percent the same person today as I was when I ran for Congress," Greene said.
But several of the congresswoman's Republican colleagues and GOP sources told Brooks they've been thrown off by Greene's positions. She's one of just four House Republicans to sign a discharge petition that would force a vote on releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files despite Republican leadership's opposition to it.
She's the only congressional Republican who declared Israel's conduct in Gaza to be a "genocide" And she's broken with her party in expressing concern about the ObamaCare subsidies set to expire and how that would affect health care costs.
Greene also criticized the Trump administration's handling of deportations, saying on a podcast over the weekend that a "smarter" plan "than just rounding up every single person and deporting them" is needed.
Through all of this, Greene has maintained that she's a strong supporter of Trump, though she told NBC News that she's not a "blind slave."
"I'm sick and tired of Republicans in Congress not passing the agenda, not doing what they say they're going to do, not governing the way they campaign," Greene said.
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