Congress
IRS furloughs nearly half its workforce, shuttering most operations
The IRS said it was furloughing nearly half of its workforce and shuttering most operations Wednesday, but will continue work to implement President Donald Trump’s signature tax cuts.
Work on preparing for next year’s tax-filing season will also continue, but numerous operations will be halted, including taxpayer services like call site operations.
The agency will also suspend non-automated tax collections and “most headquarters and administrative functions not related to the safety of life and protection of property” during non-filing season, according to the agency’s latest contingency plan.
The plan will idle tens of thousands of employees. While 39,870 — 53.6 percent of the total workforce — will remain at work, 34,429 will be furloughed.
The union that represents IRS workers condemned the move.
“Today, due to the government shutdown the American people lost access to many vital services provided by the IRS,” said Doreen Greenwald, the national president of the National Treasury Employees Union. “Expect increased wait times, backlogs and delays implementing tax law changes as the shutdown continues. Taxpayers around the country will now have a much harder time getting the assistance they need, just as they get ready to file their extension returns due next week.”
When the government shut down last week, the agency exempted all of its employees from furlough for at least five business days, saying it would stay open by using special funding it was given by Congress in 2020.
But Wednesday morning, the agency announced that, “An IRS-wide furlough began on October 8, 2025, for everyone except already-identified excepted and exempt employees,” according to a statement on the IRS’s website. “Employee[s] who are not exempt or excepted are furloughed and placed in a non-pay and non-duty status until further notice.”
The IRS’s furlough decision letter — which came a day after a White House memo suggested furloughed federal employees might not receive backpay — includes a reminder that “employees must be compensated on the earliest date possible after the lapse ends, regardless of scheduled pay dates,” per a law Trump passed in 2019.
The Treasury Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The agency originally dodged the furloughs in part because it bore responsibility for implementing the administration’s marquee tax cuts, including no tax on tips, overtime and Social Security, which Republicans are counting on for a boost in next year’s midterm elections.
“We suspect people will be getting notified all day,” said Daniel Scharpenburg, a union leader at the IRS.
A large contingent of House Republicans — encompassing hard-liners, Budget Committee members, panel chairs and party leaders — piled into Speaker Mike Johnson’s office Thursday afternoon to discuss a second party-line package, according to four people granted anonymity to share details of the private meeting.
Among the lawmakers attending were Budget Chair Jodey Arrington of Texas and Republican Study Committee Chair August Pfluger, also of Texas.
Reps. Chip Roy of Texas, Byron Donalds of Florida, Tom McClintock of California and Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma were also on hand, alongside Pennsylvania Reps. Lloyd Smucker and Scott Perry.
“We’re definitely preparing to move forward,” Johnson said in an interview as he left the meeting, regarding the House GOP Conference’s plans to pursue another bill through the filibuster-skirting budget reconciliation process. “We’re talking about more details. Lots of work going on.”
One of the biggest issues members are trying to work through at the moment is how to close the wide gap between Republicans in the House and Senate. Most House Republicans want a more expansive bill with myriad conservative policy priorities to ride alongside war and defense funding, while the Senate GOP is largely pushing for a more narrowly-focused measure, according to the four people.
Senate Democrats rejected a GOP photo ID amendment Thursday, an issue that Republicans are eager to use as a cudgel in the midterms.
Senators voted 53-47 on the amendment from Ohio Sen. Jon Husted, which needed 60 votes to advance. Republicans wanted to add the language to their election bill, known as the SAVE America Act.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the amendment “would impose the single strictest voter ID law in America.”
“Stricter than Texas. Stricter than Florida. Stricter than any state in the country,” he said.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he wants to clinch a bipartisan Department of Homeland Security funding agreement Thursday.
“I think the Dems are now in possession of what I think is our last and final” offer, Thune told reporters. “So let’s hope this gets it done.”
“We’re going to know soon,” he added.
The South Dakota Republican declined to discuss details of the offer but suggested it was similar to where the discussions were headed over the weekend. GOP senators then were looking at a bipartisan deal that would fund most of DHS but leave out funding for ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations.
That offer was rejected by Democrats. But two people granted anonymity to discuss the revised proposal said it, too, omitted only ERO money but included additional language to try to address some of Democrats’ concerns.
Spokespeople for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Senate is expected to vote again on the House-passed DHS bill Thursday afternoon. The House is also voting again on DHS funding Thursday and is planning to leave town Friday morning for a two-week holiday recess. Progress in the Senate could prompt House GOP leaders to stay in session in hopes of sending a bill to President Donald Trump.
Asked about the Senate vote, Thune said he hoped there would be “some finality in this real soon.”
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