From Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-VA11)’s office:
Walkinshaw Demands Inspectors General Investigate Trump Administration’s Wasteful and Inefficient Layoff Scheme
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman James R. Walkinshaw (VA-11) today announced that he has sent a letter to federal Inspectors General demanding investigations into the wasteful and inefficient workforce reductions initiated by President Donald Trump and Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought.
Since February, the Trump administration has forced agencies to carry out mass reductions in force (RIFs). There is evidence that these chaotic layoffs have fueled waste, slowed services for veterans and families, and weakened agencies’ ability to detect fraud and abuse. Now, amid an ongoing government shutdown, Vought has reportedly initiated a new round of mass firings that would be explicitly prohibited under the Antideficiency Act.
“Donald Trump and Russ Vought have used mass firings to dismantle our nation’s merit-based civil service system and install political loyalists under the guise of ‘cost savings.’ These mass firings have led to inefficiencies within agencies, wasted taxpayer funds, and potentially reduced staff to levels that weaken internal accountability mechanisms, opening the door for waste, fraud, and abuse. Now, Vought is attempting another round of harmful, wasteful, and inefficient layoffs during the government shutdown. These current reductions in force are explicitly illegal under the Antideficiency Act and are being used to strong-arm Congress into accepting policies that would make health care premiums skyrocket for millions of Americans,” said Congressman Walkinshaw.
“Instead of urging Speaker Johnson to end the Congressional Republican vacation and return to negotiate a bipartisan budget to resolve this shutdown, they have chosen to use federal workers as political pawns. In addition to being illegal, this decision jeopardizes agency capacity, wastes taxpayer funds, and puts the delivery of vital federal services to Americans across the country at even greater risk than usual during a shutdown,” added Congressman Walkinshaw.
In his letter, Congressman Walkinshaw urges Inspectors General to investigate the scope, costs, and impacts of Trump’s RIFs to date, including:
- The financial waste created by severance, rehiring, and contracting out eliminated positions;
• Service delays and backlogs across core agency programs, such as veterans’ benefits;
• Potential violations of federal law, collective bargaining obligations, or statutory notice requirements; and
• The erosion of oversight, whistleblower protections, and safeguards against fraud and abuse.
“Federal workers are nurses, scientists, and veterans’ claims processors who keep our country running,” Walkinshaw added. “We will not allow Donald Trump to break the law and continue to dismantle the nonpartisan civil service that protects taxpayers and serves the American people.”
The full letter is available here.
