The Dictatorship
A Trump official issued a directive that will make a government shutdown even more disastrous
Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought wants Americans to believe that in the event of a government shutdownhe and President Donald Trump have the power to fire swaths of federal employees at will. They cannot. Vought’s vindictive memodirecting agencies to consider reductions in force (RIFs) for employees in programs whose funding would lapse under a shutdown, reads like a coercive power trip. But it isn’t authority. It’s Project 2025 ambition. And it’s wrong — both legally and practically.
There is no statute, appropriation or constitutional clause that gives an administration license to fire federal civilian employees simply because funding has lapsed. When Congress fails to enact a continuing resolution or full-year funding, federal agencies are constrained by appropriations law, not presidential whim. This means that only narrowly defined “excepted” operations may continue, and all other nonessential activities must stop.
Let’s not lose sight of what is at stake. Federal employees are not political hostages.
The linchpin here is the Antideficiency Act. This statute prohibits federal officers from obligating or expending funds beyond what Congress has appropriated. It forbids initiating new obligations in a funding gap. It is the reason that many federal functions cease during a shutdown, and the reason that those federal employees deemed “excepted” work without receiving a paycheck.
In that emergency context, the only lawful personnel actions are to designate which employees are essential and which are nonessential, and then manage the furlough process. The made-up idea that you can layer a full-blown RIF process (with its permanent separations, severance, internal competition, appeals and procedural steps) on top of a funding lapse is fundamentally incompatible with the law.
Attempting to implement “mass firings,” as Vought said, during a shutdown would create new administrative burdens, legal liabilities, severance obligations and significant compensation or benefits questions. That is exactly the kind of commitment to future expenditures that the Antideficiency Act bars when money is unavailable. Vought’s proposal would push him and federal agencies into antideficiency violations and legal jeopardy.
In short, then, Vought’s memo is political intimidation, not valid administrative guidance. The RIF process is no trivial matter. “With strict regulations and processes agencies have to follow, it takes a lot of work and time for agencies to run any RIFs,” Federal News Network reported earlier this year. As experts have warned repeatedly, it is slow, complex, heavily regulated, and often vulnerable to legal challenge. Indeed, many experts see Vought’s plan as unprecedented and legally dubious. “It doesn’t seem to me that they would really be able to legally do that additional work during a shutdown,” former OMB official Bobby Kogan told Federal News Network earlier this week.
“Leveraging the possibility of a shutdown to inject new life into the Trump administration’s massive workforce reduction agenda is yet another stunt at the expense of the civil service,” says Rob Shriver, former acting director at the Office of Personnel Management. Shriver, who now leads the Civil Service Strong program at the legal group Democracy Forwardadds: “It’s clear that Trump’s own agency leaders don’t support his agenda, because they are finally learning how important the work of civil servants is to our country. OMB Director Vought should let his agency HR teams focus on the work needed to manage a shutdown without putting them through a pointless RIF exercise.”
A federal shutdown does not unlock a secret sledgehammer that Vought can take to the federal workforce.
Let’s not lose sight of what is at stake. Federal employees are not political hostages. They are the backbone of our nation’s safety and prosperity. They are the air traffic controllers guiding planes safely through our skies, the inspectors ensuring our food and water are safe, the scientists tracking and combating public health threats, and the law enforcement officers protecting our communities. They maintain our infrastructure, safeguard our environment and advance the research that drives American innovation.
Consider the debacle earlier this year at the National Nuclear Security Administration, where up to 350 employees were abruptly firedonly to have the terminations rescinded days later due to public backlash and national security concerns. Similar stories have played out at the General Services Administrationthe Internal Revenue Service and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These chaotic episodes underscores the dangers of politicizing federal workforce decisions and highlights the instability such actions can create in critical sectors. Threatening similar mass layoffs during a shutdown would not only disrupt essential services but also erode the trust and morale of the dedicated public servants who keep our nation secure.
So let me be clear. Russ Vought’s directive is an illegal power grab. A federal shutdown does not unlock a secret sledgehammer that he can take to the federal workforce. And while a government shutdown is terrible for federal workers in that they will not get paid until the government is reopened, federal law prevents the Trump administration from mass firings during a shutdown.
Rep. James R. Walkinshaw
Rep. James R. Walkinshaw represents Virginia’s 11th congressional district in the House of Representatives.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran again launched drone and missile attacks targeting Bahrainand Kuwaiton Sunday following new U.S. airstrikes against the Islamic Republic, and threatened a “complete halt” in negotiations to end the warif Washington continues its attacks.
Efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuzwithout Iran’s oversight has sparked days of crossfire. A multinational maritime body overseen by the U.S. Navy said Saturday it would expand a route near Omanfor inbound and outbound traffic.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Sunday reiterated the claim that Tehran must govern the strait to the Persian Gulfthat once carried a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas.
“Any attempt to establish new or separate arrangements from those currently being carried out by the Islamic Republic of Iran will only lead to further complications, delay the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and increase the level of tension,” Araghchi said.
The strait has long been considered an international waterway despite its location in Iran and Oman’s territorial waters. In recent days, Iran has twice attacked vessels going through a route near the Omani side.
A Pakistani official involved in the technical talks between the U.S. and Iran told MS NOW Sunday that talks between the sides are on hold given the ongoing fighting between the two sides. The source, who did not want to be named to discuss the sensitive matter, said the U.S., Iran, Pakistan and Qatar all have representatives currently in Switzerland to restart discussions when instructed to do so.
But the Trump administration said nothing has been canceled and technical talks are on track for the coming days.
Talks include arrangements around the strait, the removal of a U.S. blockade on Iranian ports and sanctions on Iran, and the future of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium. The two sides have 60 days from their signing of the memorandum of understanding earlier this month to work out details.
Continued conflict in Lebanon threatens the agreement, which says fighting must end on all fronts before certain issues can be discussed.
Strikes target Gulf states hosting US military
Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard claimed responsibility for the attacks in Bahrain and Kuwait.
Kuwait, which hosts a major U.S. military base, said air defenses intercepted Iranian drones and two missiles just after the U.S. strikes in Iran. There were no reports of injuries or damage.
Bahrain said the Iranian strikes damaged a residential building near the international airport and no one was killed. Bahrain is home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet. The damaged building was not near its headquarters.
Bahrain’s Foreign Ministry denounced what it called “a dangerous escalation that reveals that what Tehran is doing is not a passing act, nor an isolated incident, but rather a deliberate approach and a systematic pattern of repeated aggression.”
Later on Sunday, Qatar said a civilian had been killed, and another person was hurt, by shrapnel related to “military operations in the area” after a vessel didn’t return at its scheduled time on Saturday. It did not give details.
Trump accuses Iran of violating ceasefire
The U.S. military said it struck Iranian military “surveillance infrastructure, communication systems, air defense sites, drone storage facilities and minelayer capabilities” following an attack on a ship on Saturday. The Panamanian-flagged tanker Kiku carried crude oil for the state-run energy company of Qatar, another key mediator.
U.S. President Donald Trump on social media accused Iran of violating the deal and warned of a point where the U.S. may “be forced to militarily complete the job.”
“If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist!” Trump wrote.
The exchanges of fire began when an Iranian drone struck a merchant vesseloff Oman on Thursday and the U.S. military retaliated.
Ship traffic on the strait had increased over the past 72 hours, “despite the elevated threat environment,” the multinational maritime body overseen by the U.S. Navy said Sunday, adding that “U.S.-assisted commercial transits continued uninterrupted.”
It said 89 such transits had been made, below the historical average of 138 vessels a day.
Iran calls for new ‘conflict control unit’ in Lebanon
Last week, Israel and Lebanon signed a framework agreementto end the latest fighting between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group, which began two days after the Iran war started when Hezbollah fired at Israel. Israel has responded with an invasion of southern Lebanon and it has said it will not withdraw until Hezbollah is disarmed.
The agreement did not include Iran or Hezbollah, which has criticized itand rejected calls to disarm.
On Sunday, Iran’s foreign minister again said the U.S. must force Israel to halt attacks and withdraw. Israel occupies around 600 square kilometers (231 square miles) in southern Lebanon, which it says it needs as a security buffer.
Sporadic clashes have continued, and Hezbollah’s leader said Saturday that the group would continue fighting until Israel withdraws from Lebanon.
Key Iranian negotiator and parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said Sunday that a meeting of a new “conflict control unit” formed among Iran, the United States and Lebanon should meet as soon as possible, Iran’s state broadcaster reported.
Two strikes hit southern Lebanon on Sunday morning — one in Taybeh town and the other in the Nabatiyeh area, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency. There was no immediate word on casualties.
Overnight, Hezbollah militants killed an Israeli soldier in Deir Siryan village in southern Lebanon, according to Israel’s military. Hezbollah did not comment.
Israel targets a village in Syria
Israel’s military targeted Abdin village in southern Syria’s Daraa province with artillery shelling Sunday evening, Syrian state media reported. There was no immediate report of casualties.
State news agency SANA earlier reported that residents had blocked the road into the village with stones to prevent Israeli forces from entering it again after they had entered and withdrawn.
Earlier Sunday, Israel’s military said it had killed several armed men in southern Syria but gave no details. There was no statement from Syrian officials.
Israel seized control of a U.N.-patrolled buffer zone in southern Syria in December 2024 following the ouster of former Syrian President Bashar Assad in an insurgent offensive. Israeli officials initially called the move temporary, but more recently they have said they plan to occupy the zone indefinitely.
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani has a message for political opponents using him as the new face of the Democratic Party: “Let them.”
Recent primary races in New York turned into a proxy war between progressives, including democratic socialists like Mamdani, and establishment Democratic politicians after candidates endorsed by Mamdani faced off against those endorsed by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. After all three of Mamdani’s endorsements bore fruit, a national spotlight shone on the mayor as a growing influence in the Democratic Party.
Asked on ABC News’ “This Week” on Sunday how he felt about Republicans making him the “poster child” for the Democratic Party, Mamdani said, “Let them. We don’t have to ask ourselves what life looks like if a socialist wins. I won last November, and over the course of these last six months, what we’ve delivered for working people are the very things we were told were impossible.”
He touted recent campaign promises he delivered on, including freezing rents for nearly one million rent-stabilized apartments, expanding free child care and filling potholes across the city.
“I think we are seeing a hunger that is not just felt by New Yorkers, but frankly by Americans from coast to coast for a new politics, one that puts working people at the heart of it,” Mamdani told ABC.
Mamdani dismissed criticism from Republicans and Democrats alike. Jeffries, who represents parts of Brooklyn and Queens, said last week that he and the mayor “agree to strongly disagree about some of his endorsements, and he’s got work to do in terms of the conversations that he’s going to have with members of Congress moving forward.” Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said, “The effort to nationalize New York is going to fail.”
Mamdani said he’s focused on the three congressional candidates he has already endorsed: Brad LanderDarializa Avila Chevalier and Claire Valdez. But he didn’t rule out future endorsements outside of New York.
“It’s not just New York City where working people are asking themselves ‘why can’t I afford my rent, why can’t I afford my groceries, why can’t I find enough money in my pocket for childcare no matter how hard I work?,’” Mamdani said.
When asked about a recent manifesto penned by a number of moderate House Democrats and Democratic candidates, promoting capitalism over socialism, Mamdani doubled down on his vision for the party.
“I’m not interested in writing a manifesto, or frankly, in reading one,” the mayor said. “I’m interested in delivering.”
Mamdani also criticized Democrats who continue to make antagonizing Trump the center of their politics rather than working people.
“You’ve got to have something that you are not just willing to stand up for, but that you’re also willing to explain how this is relevant to working people,” he said. “And I think this just comes back to the fact that I’m leading a city that’s the wealthiest city in the wealthiest country in the history of the world. I could end the sentence there and say that life is great for 8.5 million people. But it’s also a city where one in four are living in poverty. And for far too many Americans, those contradictions have become their day to day life.”
Erum Salam is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW, with a focus on how global events and foreign policy shape U.S. politics. She previously was a breaking news reporter for The Guardian.
Despite remaining undefeated in the initial round of the World Cupthe Iran national team is going home after failing to secure enough points to advance. But they do not leave quietly.
Iran’s tumultuous journey in the World Cup has been the subject of widespread attention amid the U.S. war with Iran, with the United States being one of three countries hosting matches. The Iranian team captain, Mehdi Taremi, blamed FIFA, saying, “It’s a disaster World Cup. A disaster.”
“I mean, FIFA, they have to solve every problem here but unfortunately they could not solve it since the beginning,” Taremi said at a press conference Friday after his team drew with Egypt, knocking Iran out of the tournament.
He pointed to the team’s biggest obstacle. “We don’t have our logistics people here. They don’t have a visa,” Taremi said, adding, “We always complain about these things but no one helps. No one.”
The Trump administration denied visas to key Iranian staff and severely restricted players’ travel. The team’s base camp was moved from Arizona to Tijuana, Mexico, where it was required to return immediately after each game.
“How is it possible we always have to travel from Tijuana? We love the people in Tijuana. We love Mexico,” the Iran team captain said, but added, “It’s not fair.”
Throughout the tournament, the Football Federation of Iran lamented the number of issues, threatening to lodge a formal complaint against FIFA. Head coach Amir Ghalenoei called his team the “most oppressed” in the tournament. A few days before Iran’s final match against Egypt in Seattle on Friday, the U.S. loosened travel restrictions to allow players to enter the United States two days before the game.
“The Iran team will still be required to leave the day the match ends,” the Department of Homeland Security said ahead of the match. “The overall security measures and protocol are the same. We remain committed to providing the safest tournament possible for players, staff, and fans alike.”
Still, Iran finished Group G in third place with three points earned after drawing in its matches against Belgium, New Zealandand Egypt. Under FIFA’s new 48-team format, the top eight of third-place teams move on to the next round, but Iran narrowly fell short.
The team initially seemed poised to advance when it was tied with the same amount of points as Algeria, which scored a goal in stoppage-time against Austria Saturday night. But moments later, Austria tied the game, guaranteeing Iran’s elimination.
Off the field, tensions with Iran heightened Friday when the U.S. struck Iran despite signing a memorandum of understanding meant to halt hostilities in order to finalize a peace deal.
Erum Salam is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW, with a focus on how global events and foreign policy shape U.S. politics. She previously was a breaking news reporter for The Guardian.
- Capitol agenda: Red, white and GOP hard-liner blues
- Fetterman, McCormick sidestep Shapiro on Pennsylvania’s ‘Great American State Fair’ booth
- AOC calls to ‘break up’ big tech companies amid price hikes
- Renewed Iranian attacks following U.S. strikes threaten to halt talks
- Mamdani embraces GOP making him ‘poster child’ of Democratic Party: ‘Let them’
- Iran soccer team leaves after narrow loss, denouncing ‘disaster World Cup’
- What Ron DeSantis’ closure of ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ reveals about MAGA
- Republicans get antsy about confirmations as the Senate hangs in the balance
- Rick Scott says he’s just trying to help
- Millions drop Obamacare health coverage after subsidies expire and costs rise
-
Politics1 year agoFormer ‘Squad’ members launching ‘Bowman and Bush’ YouTube show
-
The Dictatorship1 year agoLuigi Mangione acknowledges public support in first official statement since arrest
-
Politics1 year agoFormer Kentucky AG Daniel Cameron launches Senate bid
-
Uncategorized2 years ago
Bob Good to step down as Freedom Caucus chair this week
-
The Josh Fourrier Show2 years agoDOOMSDAY: Trump won, now what?
-
The Dictatorship1 year agoPete Hegseth’s tenure at the Pentagon goes from bad to worse
-
Politics1 year agoBlue Light News’s Editorial Director Ryan Hutchins speaks at Blue Light News’s 2025 Governors Summit
-
The Dictatorship10 months agoMike Johnson sums up the GOP’s arrogant position on military occupation with two words