Walkinshaw Calls Out Vought’s Mass Layoff Threats As Illegal

Today, Congressman James R. Walkinshaw (D-VA), a member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, issued the following statement condemning OMB Director Russ Vought’s escalating threats to carry out mass firings of federal workers in the event of a government shutdown:

“Russ Vought is giving away the game. He knows he has no legal authority to carry out mass firings, and his actions are illegal. For him and Trump, their shutdown is a weapon to inflict cruelty and dismantle the federal workforce at any cost.”

For months, Vought has demanded that agencies prepare “reduction in force” plans. But there is no legal basis for such sweeping firings during a shutdown. Congressman Walkinshaw has repeatedly pointed out that Trump and Vought’s plan would violate the Antideficiency Act.

Yesterday, Walkinshaw authored an op-ed for MSNBC on this issue, titled, “Russ Vought's directive to fire federal workers during a shutdown is illegal.”