Susan Collins Slams Trump Administration Over Layoffs

Photo By Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images

On Friday, Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) became the first senior Republican to openly rebuke White House budget chief Russ Vought’s decision to begin mass layoffs of federal workers, amid the ongoing government shutdown.

In a statement to Politico, the Senate Appropriations Committee chair warned that “arbitrary layoffs” would harm government operations already strained by the shutdown, which has been in effect since Oct. 1. “I strongly oppose OMB Director Russ Vought’s attempt to permanently lay off federal workers who have been furloughed due to a completely unnecessary government shutdown caused by Senator [Chuck] Schumer [D-NY],” Collins wrote.

“Regardless of whether federal employees have been working without pay or have been furloughed, their work is incredibly important to serving the public,” she added. Notably, Collins is facing reelection in Maine next year.

Her comments followed Vought’s Friday morning announcement on X that “reductions-in-force” across federal agencies had begun — a rare step during a shutdown, when furloughed employees are typically reinstated once funding is restored. A spokesperson for the budget office told The Associated Press on Friday that the layoffs are “substantial,” without providing further numerical details.

During a presser last week, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt emphasized that President Donald Trump takes no joy in firing federal workers. However, a few days earlier, the president joked on Truth Social about layoffs, posting a strange video that likened Vought to the Grim Reaper.