Federal Agencies Planning For Mass Firings Ahead Of Potential Shutdown: What To Know In NJ

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 uncertain future for government workers in New Jersey.

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.

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.

Several congress members from New Jersey have been weighing in on the financial tug-of-war, including Sen. Cory Booker, a Democrat and Newark resident.

“Republicans control the White House, the Senate and the House,” Booker commented last week. “If they want to earn my vote, they cannot continue to put forward proposals that continue to raise our costs, jeopardize our health care and hurt the people of my state.”

On Monday, U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a Democrat from New Jersey’s 5th district, called on Senate and House leadership to come together in a bipartisan way, fund the government, and extend the Affordable Care Act (ACA) enhanced premium tax credits that are set to expire at the end of the year.

“Despite what many of us demanded, the far-right refused to include an extension of the health care premium tax credits in the partisan budget they passed,” Gottheimer said.

“That means right here in New Jersey, more than 454,000 people who rely on the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare or healthcare.gov — including 38,000 in my district alone — will see their health care premiums skyrocket beginning in January,” the congressman said.

“We’re talking about 22 million families across the country,” he added.

Republican leaders in Congress have argued otherwise.

“The problem is that Democrats only want to meet to repeat their demands that we include free health care to illegal aliens, half a billion dollars to prop up liberal news outlets, other leftist priorities, and a massive $1.5 trillion spending hike in a simple seven-week funding bill,” House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana said, accusing Democrats of “holding government funding hostage.”

“House Republicans have already done the job of passing a clean, bipartisan bill to keep the government open,” Johnson said. “Now it’s up to Senate Democrats – who have long said shutdowns are bad and hurt people – to vote to fund the American government, or shut it down because they want to restore taxpayer-funded benefits to illegal aliens.”

'BE PREPARED FOR A SHUTDOWN'

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.”

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

The Associated Press and Patch national desk contributed reporting for this article