Schumer Shutdown Day 3: RIFs Near, But Whose Fault Really Is It?

On Day 3 of the government shutdown, alarm bells are sounding across federal agencies: reductions-in-force (RIFs)  – i.e. layoffs  – are no longer a distant threat, but an imminent reality. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has directed agencies to quietly prepare for mass layoffs should the stalemate continue -and insiders warned that RIFs could arrive “as early as next week.” ^{The Washington Post}

If you are a government employee, or someone in a federal job whose security now feels tenuous, be clear-eyed: you may not be collateral damage in an inevitable breakdown  – you may be a casualty of political choices. And if you get “riffed,” the blame cannot be spread evenly. The root of this impasse lies in Senate leader Chuck Schumer’s intransigence, backed by Maryland’s own Democratic senators  – Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks  – who’ve refused to relent on demands that would keep the government open instead of pushing civil servants toward the unemployment line.

RIFs Loom, Not Tiptoeing

Normally, in a shutdown, agencies furlough non-essential employees but avoid terminations. But this time, officials are being told to prepare for mass terminations. ^{National Low Income Housing Coalition.} The legal waters are murky  – the Anti-Deficiency Act and appropriations law restrict paying workers without authorization  – but the administration is signaling that constitutional authority may allow emergency RIFs. ^{The Washington Post}

In short, the threat of layoffs isn’t scaremongering: it’s baked into current planning. And unless Congress acts, next week might be the first wave of pink slips.

Don’t Blame the Trainee  – Follow the Chain of Command

It’s tempting to pin blame on Washington chaos writ large. But politics has agency, and the players who refused a compromise are not neutral actors. Chuck Schumer, in particular, has held firm against a “clean” continuing resolution  – rejecting Republican offers in favor of legislative vehicles that include expansion of healthcare subsidies and protections. ^TIME Progressives and swing-vote Democrats pressured him to block a deal that would fund the government without those additional demands. ^Axios

Maryland’s Senators should not be absolved. Van Hollen and Alsobrooks have repeatedly expressed moral outrage at Republicans but have offered little in the way of hard-line leadership or defections from Schumer’s position. ^{Maryland Matters} When pressed, they repeat generic calls for bipartisanship, but do not confront their own party’s obstructionism  – even as constituents risk losing their livelihoods.

To be precise: if Congress had passed a short-term continuing resolution keeping current funding levels, federal workers and essential services would have remained intact. The shutdown and ensuing RIF threat exist because Schumer and aligned Democrats declined that route. Anyone laid off next week is a direct consequence of that decision.

The Health Care Distraction: A Poor Excuse

One justification repeatedly floated by Democrats is that they cannot support a “clean” bill because it lacks protections for healthcare subsidies, including protections for noncitizens. In Maryland’s case, Democratic operatives argue that Van Hollen and Alsobrooks must uphold this principle. ^{Maryland Matters}

But here’s the hard truth: every additional demand attached to a budget bill raises the stakes of failure. Forcing all parties to bet on passing a more elaborate package inevitably increases the risk of paralysis. And when you do that while the clock ticks toward shutdown, you shift the burden onto employees, not negotiators.

If your job is at risk, don’t accept the narrative that you’re a “victim of dysfunction.” You are a victim of choices  – political choices made by leaders who believed that pushing maximal demands was more important than keeping the lights on.

In the End: Accountability Matters

As Day 3 turns into Day 4, federal workers are watching with growing dread. Houses fall dark, paychecks dry up, and job insecurity creeps into every agency corridor. To those who will face layoffs: hold fast to the truth. You are not casualties of abstract gridlock. You are casualties of leaders who prioritized policy over paying workers.

And to Maryland’s voters: recognize that Van Hollen and Alsobrooks now have responsibility. They may posture sympathy, but their loyalty lies with the Senate leadership, not with federal employees whose futures they now gamble. If the government reopens without mass layoffs, great  – but if you find your name on a RIF list, spare a thought (and your ire) for those who engineered this confrontation from their Senate offices.

When the dust settles  – and someday it will  – remember who held the line and forced our civil servants to pay the price. Chuck Schumer and the Maryland Democrats who enabled him will not be able to hide behind “gridlock” as an excuse. Their fingerprints are all over this shutdown and next week’s pink slips.

Alex Luther is a contributor for Direct Line News and can be reached at Alex.Luther@mcgopclub.com

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Alex Luther

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