The Latest: Budget office says ‘substantial’ firings of federal workers have started

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The White House budget office said Friday that mass firings of federal workers have started in an attempt to exert more pressure on Democratic lawmakers as the government shutdown continues.

Russ Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, said on the social platform X that the “RIFs have begun,” referring to reduction-in-force plans aimed at reducing the size of the federal government.

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.”

The Latest:

After it was announced that the Pentagon will build a training facility in Idaho for pilots from Qatar, the nation, which hosts the biggest U.S. military base in the Middle East, is making it clear that it will not have a base on U.S. soil and that it will cover the costs of building the facility.

“This will not be a Qatari air base,” the spokesperson for the embassy in Washington said in a statement posted on the social platform X. “Rather, Qatar has made an initial 10-year commitment to construct and maintain a dedicated facility within an existing US air base, intended for advanced training and to enhance interoperability in defending and advancing our shared interests around the world.”

The statement said the project will create hundreds of jobs for Americans and added that planning for began several years ago and received local approval.

Venezuela asked for the meeting of the U.N.’s most powerful body following deadly U.S. military strikes on four boats that Washington says were carrying drugs.

Venezuela accused U.S. President Donald Trump of seeking to topple President Nicolás Maduro and threatening “peace, security and stability regionally and internationally.” The Trump administration has said three of the targeted boats set out to sea from Venezuela.

The strikes, which the U.S. said killed 21 people, followed a buildup of U.S. maritime forces in the Caribbean unlike any seen in recent times.

While Venezuela got support from allies Russia and China, the rest of the 15-member council was cautious, calling for a de-escalation and adherence to the U.N. Charter, which requires all 193 member nations to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all other countries and to settle disputes peacefully.

The judge ruled Friday that the administration cannot put conditions on such grants, including barring groups from promoting diversity, equity and inclusion or providing abortion resources.

U.S. District Court Judge Melissa DuBose in Providence, Rhode Island, granted a motion by 17 statewide anti-domestic and sexual violence coalitions for a preliminary injunction while the lawsuit plays out.

“Without preliminary relief, the Plaintiffs will face irreparable harm that will disrupt vital services to victims of homelessness and domestic and sexual violence,” DuBose wrote. “On the contrary, if preliminary relief is granted, the Defendants will merely need to revert back to considering grant applications and awarding funds as they normally would.”

DuBose further ruled that the decision preventing these grant conditions went beyond plaintiffs and will apply to anyone applying for money doled out by the departments of Housing and Urban Development and Health and Human Services.

Neither HUD nor HHS responded to a request for comment.

A food aid program that supports millions of low-income mothers and their young children received a $300 million infusion from the Trump administration this week, alleviating some anxiety that it would run out of money during the government shutdown.

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children helps more than 6 million low-income mothers, young children and expectant parents to purchase nutritious staples like fruits and vegetables, low-fat milk and infant formula. The program, known as WIC, was at risk of running out of money this month because of the government shutdown, which occurred right before it was slated to receive its annual appropriation.

White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said this week in a post on the social platform X that the White House had found “a creative solution” to use tariff revenues to keep the program afloat. By Thursday at least some states were receiving WIC money. Alaska and Washington said they received enough federal funds to keep their programs running until at least the end of October.

The U.S. military is moving forward with plans to build a dedicated facility in Idaho to train pilots from Qatar, an important U.S. ally in the Middle East, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday.

Hegseth, who made the announcement during a visit by Qatar’s defense minister, said the facility to be built at the Mountain Home Air Force Base would “host a contingent of Qatari F-15s and pilots to enhance our combined training, increase the lethality, interoperability.”

The arrangement is not unusual. Pentagon officials noted that similar facilities have been set up for other allies for decades, and the Idaho base already hosts a fighter squadron from Singapore.

But the plan drew a sharp rebuke from close Trump ally and conservative influencer Laura Loomer, who called it “an abomination.”

▶ Read more about the plan here

The judge ruled Friday that the administration cannot put conditions on such grants, including barring groups from promoting diversity, equity and inclusion or providing abortion resources.

U.S. District Court Judge Melissa DuBose in Providence, Rhode Island, granted a motion by 17 statewide anti-domestic and sexual violence coalitions for a preliminary injunction while the lawsuit plays out.

“Without preliminary relief, the Plaintiffs will face irreparable harm that will disrupt vital services to victims of homelessness and domestic and sexual violence,” DuBose wrote. “On the contrary, if preliminary relief is granted, the Defendants will merely need to revert back to considering grant applications and awarding funds as they normally would.”

DuBose further ruled that the decision preventing these grant conditions went beyond plaintiffs and will apply to anyone applying for money doled out by the departments of Housing and Urban Development and Health and Human Services.

Neither HUD nor HHS responded to a request for comment.

The office said in a court filing that well over 4,000 workers would be dismissed, though it noted that the funding situation is “fluid and rapidly evolving.”

The firings would hit the hardest at the departments of the Treasury, which would lose over 1,400 employees; Health and Human Services, with a loss of over 1,100; and Housing and Urban Development, set to lose over 400.

Commerce, Education, Energy, Homeland Security and the Environmental Protection Agency were all set to fire hundreds more.

It was not clear which particular programs would be affected.

The administration is pushing again to deport Abrego Garcia, a Maryland man who was mistakenly sent to El Salvador, even though three African countries that have been approached have rejected the idea, a judge heard during testimony Friday.

Abrego Garcia is challenging efforts to remove him to a third country after the government admitted that a previous order prevents deportation to his home country, El Salvador. Immigration officials said recently that they plan to send him to the southern African country of Eswatini

The case has come to represent the bitter partisan struggle over the president’s sweeping immigration policy and mass deportation agenda.

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis said she will decide soon whether Abrego Garcia should remain in custody or be released from immigration detention while his challenge moves forward. That followed a hearing she ordered asking officials to explain steps they have taken to deport Abrego Garcia.

▶ Read more about the latest in the case

The contracts announced Friday are the first to be funded by $50 billion set aside in a bill the president signed in July. They also draw on money left over from 2021.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem waived environmental and other legal reviews in California and New Mexico to expedite construction.

Seven contracts were awarded to a company identified as BCCG Joint Venture in a U.S. Customs and Border Protection statement. Construction is to take place in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.

The first Trump administration built more than 450 miles (720 kilometers) of wall, covering nearly one-fourth of the border.

The president, giving his reaction to the award, listed off peace efforts he made while in office this year but said that when it comes to the Nobel Peace Prize, “You could also say it was given out for ’24, and I was running for office in ’24.”

There is some truth to that: There is a Feb. 1 deadline to be nominated for the 2025 award, which fell just a week and a half into his second term.

Trump said Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado called him after her win and told him, “I’m accepting this in honor of you because you really deserved it.”

He then joked: “I didn’t say, ‘Then give it to me.’”

“I think she might have,” Trump added.

The president also confirmed that he will deliver an address to the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, and that he expects to meet with “leaders from all over the world” in Egypt.

Trump expressed confidence that a ceasefire, which went into effect earlier Friday, will hold.

“Hopefully, you’re going to have success or as I call it everlasting success,” he said.

“I’m going to be there regardless,” the president told reporters during an Oval Office appearance for an announcement on prescription drug pricing.

The leaders are expected to meet at the end of October on the sidelines of a regional conference in South Korea.

Trump had said earlier on social media that there didn’t seem to be a reason to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping anymore because of export controls the country placed on rare earths.

He said in the Oval Office that China’s move was unexpected.

Both Pfizer and AstraZeneca will offer medications through the site, which the administration says will allow people to buy drugs directly from manufacturers.

The website’s landing page features two very large pictures of Trump and a promise that the site is “Coming Soon” in January 2026.

It says at the bottom that the website was “Designed in DC by The National Design Studio,” which was created by executive order in August and is being led by Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia.

A monthslong calm on Wall Street shattered as the S&P 500 sank 2.7% in its worst day since April; the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 878 points, or 1.9%; and the Nasdaq composite fell 3.6%.

Stocks had been heading for a slight gain in the morning, until Trump took to his social media platform and said he’s considering “a massive increase of tariffs” on Chinese imports. He’s upset at restrictions China has placed on exports of its rare earths, which are materials that are critical for the manufacturing of everything from consumer electronics to jet engines.

The ratchet higher in tensions between the world’s largest economies led to widespread drops across Wall Street, with roughly six out of every seven stocks within the S&P 500 falling. Nearly everything weakened, from Big Tech companies like Nvidia and Apple to stocks of smaller companies looking to get past uncertainty about tariffs and trade.

Late in the afternoon, the president brought the press into the Oval Office to announce that drug manufacturer AstraZeneca will offer “major discounts” on prescriptions.

He touted it as “another historic achievement in our quest to lower drug prices for all Americans.”

The president says he’s placing an additional 100% tax on Chinese imports starting Nov. 1 or sooner. He cited Chinese export controls on rare earths.

If Trump goes ahead with it, the move would push tariff rates close to levels that in April fanned fears of a steep recession and financial market chaos.

Trump made the announcement on his social media site. He said the date for imposing the tariff would depend on “any further actions or changes taken by China.”

The Republican president is known for backing down from his threats.

“It is appalling that the Trump administration is using the government shutdown as an excuse to fire federal workers, including dedicated EPA employees who provide critical services to communities across the country,” said Justin Chen, president of American Federation of Government Employees Council 238, which represents EPA workers.

The Environmental Protection Agency said it has begun an unspecified number of layoffs. A spokesperson blamed congressional Democrats, saying they “have chosen to shut down the government and brought about this outcome.”

Chen said using EPA jobs “as political leverage is an unprecedented and illegal abuse of power,” adding that they will weaken the agency workforce and thus pose a direct threat to public health and safety.

Rachel Gittleman, president of AFGE Local 252, said the Trump administration is laying off almost all employees below the director level at the agency’s Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. The office was down to about 165 employees after mass firings that nearly halved the Education Department in March.

The office oversees much of the department’s grantmaking activities to school districts. It supports work ranging from helping schools affected by natural disasters to allocating funding for teacher training and disbursing money allocated by Congress.

Fewer than 10 employees were being terminated at the Education Department’s Office of Communications and Outreach. It will eliminate one of two teams remaining in the office after the March layoffs.

The union said it’s unclear exactly how many Education Department staffers are being laid off as part of mass firings across the federal government Friday.

As James’ indictment provokes harsh condemnations from high-profile Democrats – including allegations of “tyranny” and “political retribution” – one party member is reserving judgment.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams attends an event at the NYPD’s 40th precinct, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025, in the Bronx borough of New York. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)

On Friday, Eric Adams, the outgoing mayor of New York City, repeatedly evaded questions about the prosecution, saying only that he would “let the process play out.”

“Don’t start asking me about what do I think about what’s going on now,” he added, launching into a lengthy broadside about the lack of support he received following his own federal indictment. “I want to know what did you think about when my life was destroyed.”

Adams’ corruption case was dropped earlier this year following another norm-breaking intervention by Trump’s Justice Department. The Democratic mayor has since refused to criticize the president publicly and recently met with Trump intermediaries to discuss the possibility of accepting a federal job in exchange for dropping out of the mayoral race.

Adams has since abandoned his reelection campaign but says he hasn’t received any formal offers to join the Trump administration.

Virginia’s two senators, Democrats Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, say the Trump administration’s firing of thousands of federal workers is not an unfortunate byproduct of the government shutdown, “but a deliberate choice.”

The senators represent a state that will be predominantly affected by the layoffs. They said the president and his budget director, Russell Vought, are “reckless ideologues willing to inflict real pain on hardworking Americans to score political points.”

“It’s irresponsible, it’s cruel, and it won’t work,” they wrote in a joint statement.