Federal RIF news in 2025 and 2026 has centered on the largest workforce reduction in modern government history and the legal and legislative fights it triggered. Roughly 264,000 civilian federal workers left government service in 2025, a 10.3% drop, through a mix of reductions in force, a deferred resignation program, probationary firings, and early retirement offers.1Pew Research Center. Federal Workforce Shrank 10% in Trumps First Year Back in Office Courts have paused several waves of layoffs, Congress imposed a temporary moratorium, and the Office of Personnel Management has proposed sweeping new rules that would reshape how future RIFs work. As of mid-2026, none of those rules are final, key lawsuits remain active, and the administration has moved on to a parallel track that strips civil service protections from thousands of career positions outright.
How the 2025 Layoffs Unfolded
A February 11, 2025 executive order directed agencies to carry out “large-scale reductions in force,” prioritizing positions tied to diversity, equity, and inclusion work, offices performing functions not required by statute, and employees not designated as essential during funding lapses.2White House. Implementing the Presidents Department of Government Efficiency Workforce Optimization Initiative The Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk, embedded team leads in agencies to identify positions for elimination.
Reductions moved on several tracks at once. Nearly 25,000 probationary employees were fired in February and March 2025.3Government Executive. Project 2025 Wanted to Hobble the Federal Workforce DOGE Has Hastily Done and More4NPR. Federal Employees Fork Deferred Resignation Trump5NPR. USAID Officially Shuts Down and Merges Remaining Operations With State Department1Pew Research Center. Federal Workforce Shrank 10% in Trumps First Year Back in Office
By November 2025, OPM said 317,000 federal employees had left government service, surpassing the administration’s stated goal of 300,000.6Federal News Network. 317,000 Feds Have Left the Government This Year Surpassing OPMs Goal An estimated 25,000 fired workers were later rehired after agencies determined they were essential.7Federal News Network. A Year After Trumps DOGE Cuts Workers Whose Lives Were Upended Question What Was Saved
The Court Fights
Three cases reached the Supreme Court during 2025, each testing presidential authority over the workforce.
In San Francisco, U.S. District Judge William Alsup ordered the reinstatement of 16,000 probationary employees in March 2025, finding that OPM had overstepped its authority in directing mass firings. The Supreme Court blocked that injunction in April on standing grounds. Alsup issued a second injunction later that month barring OPM from directing agency firings or distributing form termination letters.8SCOTUSblog. The Status of Trumps RIFs
U.S. District Judge Susan Illston preliminarily blocked RIFs across 22 agencies in May 2025 and ordered disclosure of agency reorganization plans. The Supreme Court stayed her injunction on July 8, 2025, finding the government was “likely to succeed” in arguing the executive order was lawful.9Supreme Court of the United States. Trump v. American Federation of Government Employees Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented.
U.S. District Judge Myong Joun in Boston blocked the Department of Education from firing 1,378 employees and dismantling the department. The Supreme Court stayed that injunction on July 14, 2025, letting the layoffs proceed while the case continued.10Supreme Court of the United States. McMahon v. New York The Education Department’s staff dropped from about 4,133 to 2,183.11K-12 Dive. Supreme Court New York McMahon Emergency Order RIF Layoffs Education Department
The Shutdown RIFs and the Congressional Moratorium
The government shut down on October 1, 2025. The Office of Management and Budget had already told agencies to prepare mass firing plans. On October 10, at least seven agencies issued RIF notices to more than 4,000 employees at the Department of Education, HUD, Energy, IRS, SAMHSA, and the CDC. The CDC later said about 800 of its notices were sent in error.12NPR. Government Shutdown Federal Employees Congress RIF
Judge Illston issued a temporary restraining order on October 15 blocking the shutdown-era RIFs across more than 30 agencies, calling them “politically motivated” and “contrary to the laws.”13CNN. Federal Worker Layoffs Shutdown Judge Unlawful On October 28, she converted the order into a preliminary injunction barring OPM and OMB from issuing termination notices “during and because of the federal government shutdown.”14Courthouse News. Judge Extends Pause on Shutdown Layoffs
The 43-day shutdown ended on November 12, 2025, when President Trump signed a continuing resolution passed by the House 222 to 209.15NPR. House Vote Shutdown End Section 120 of that legislation prohibited new RIFs through January 30, 2026 and required agencies to reverse any RIFs proposed or executed during the shutdown, with affected employees entitled to reinstatement and full back pay.16Federal News Network. Shutdown Deal Rescinds Certain RIFs and Blocks New Ones for Now A subsequent continuing resolution extended the prohibition through February 13, 2026.17Government Executive. Congress Paused All Federal Layoffs Three Months Thats Set to Change This Week
The Securing Assurance for Federal Employees (SAFE) Act, introduced November 6, 2025 by Senators Mark Warner, Tim Kaine, Chris Van Hollen, Chuck Schumer, and others, would permanently prohibit RIFs during a lapse in appropriations.18Senator Tim Kaine. Senators Act to Bar Mass Layoffs During Government Shutdown
Even after the moratorium took effect, the administration attempted further terminations. In December 2025, AFGE and the American Foreign Service Association sought emergency relief against the State Department’s plan to terminate about 250 Foreign Service and civil service employees.19Democracy Forward. State Department Violating Law in Attempt to Fire Foreign Service Officers Judge Illston granted a second preliminary injunction on December 17, 2025, ordering the rescission of RIF notices at the Small Business Administration, General Services Administration, State Department, and Department of Education.20AFGE. Summary of AFGE Lawsuits Against Trump
OPM’s Proposed Rewrite of the RIF Rules
While courts and Congress fought over existing layoffs, OPM published three interrelated proposed regulations that would reshape how future RIFs work.
Performance Ratings Would Displace Tenure
A proposed rule published March 5, 2026 would replace the existing RIF retention system, which prioritizes tenure and length of service under the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, with one built primarily around performance ratings.21OPM. Reductions in Force A weighted sum of an employee’s three most recent appraisals would become the dominant factor, worth seven points for an “Outstanding” rating and zero for “Minimally Successful” or “Unacceptable.”22Government Executive. OPM Proposes New Layoff Rules Emphasizing Performance and Reducing Employee Protections
The rule would also expand categories of employees excluded from RIF protections to include probationary employees, temporary appointees, and Schedule C and G political appointees, and would let agencies downgrade employees to lower-paying roles if their duties had “eroded,” bypassing standard RIF procedures.23Federal Register. Reduction in Force Proposed Rule Public comments closed May 4, 2026.
Appeals Would Shift From the MSPB to OPM
A rule proposed February 10, 2026 would transfer authority for hearing RIF appeals from the independent Merit Systems Protection Board to OPM’s own Office of Merit System Accountability and Compliance.24Federal Register. Reduction in Force Appeals Employees would lose the right to a hearing with live testimony and to a discovery phase; OPM would rely on written records and its own investigations.25Federal News Network. Trump Administrations RIF Overhauls Troubling to Former MSPB Officials The Partnership for Public Service called the change a “complete reversal” of the 1978 statute, which separated personnel policy from adjudication to prevent conflicts of interest, and said centralizing final authority in the OPM Director amounts to a “rubber stamp” process.26Partnership for Public Service. Comments on OPM Reduction in Force Appeals Proposed Rule The docket received 1,254 public comments.
Forced Distribution of Performance Ratings
A third rule, published February 24, 2026, would remove the existing prohibition on “forced distribution” of performance ratings and let OPM impose standardized quotas capping how many employees can receive top marks.27Federal Register. Performance Appraisal for General Schedule Prevailing Rate and Certain Other Employees OPM cited data showing that 64.4% of non-SES employees received ratings of “Outstanding” or “Exceeds Fully Successful” between fiscal years 2022 and 2024, while only 0.5% were rated below “Fully Successful.”
The American Federation of Government Employees warned the rule, combined with the performance-based retention proposal, would create a mechanism for “arbitrary mass firings,” since fewer top ratings mean more employees vulnerable under the new retention formula. Defense, Treasury, Energy, and HHS criticized the forced-distribution concept internally, arguing it contradicts Merit Systems Principles and would push managers to issue arbitrary ratings.28Government Executive. Agencies Internally Pan OPMs Bid to Overhaul Federal Performance Management
Schedule Policy/Career Skirts the RIF Process Entirely
On June 3, 2026, President Trump signed Executive Order 14410, implementing “Schedule Policy/Career,” a revival of the earlier “Schedule F” concept, which reclassifies certain career positions as at-will and strips their civil service protections against termination.29Federal News Network. Trump Moves About 8000 Federal Positions to Schedule Policy Career The order covers close to 8,000 employees across more than 4,800 positions in 54 agencies, with 97% of the affected roles at or above GS-15. Defense, Homeland Security, HHS, Treasury, and Commerce have the most converted positions.30Lawfare. Inside the Implementation of Schedule Policy Career
Affected employees include leaders of agency subcomponents, chief officers, senior program managers, regulation writers, and high-level attorneys. Under the new classification, workers can be removed for performance or misconduct without any right to appeal to the MSPB and cannot challenge their reclassification. HHS began Schedule Policy/Career conversions for hundreds of GS-15 positions in May 2026, and officials estimate roughly 50,000 positions government-wide could eventually be reclassified.31Government Executive. HHS Start Schedule PC Conversions While Withholding Details New RIFs At least four lawsuits challenging the classification were filed before the order was signed, with arguments centered on the Due Process Clause and claims that the reclassification exceeds presidential authority.
Where Things Stand in Mid-2026
Every front remains in flux. The three OPM proposed rules on retention, appeals, and performance ratings are past their comment periods but not yet final. HHS conducted a new round of RIFs in May 2026 alongside the Schedule Policy/Career conversions.
The lawsuits are still moving. In McMahon, Judge Joun vacated his preliminary injunction after the Supreme Court’s stay but ordered the government to produce documents and submit to depositions, citing “prima facie evidence of pretext” in the RIF decision-making.32FindLaw. State of New York v. Linda McMahon The Ninth Circuit dismissed the government’s appeal of Judge Illston’s shutdown RIF injunctions in January 2026.20AFGE. Summary of AFGE Lawsuits Against Trump The Schedule Policy/Career executive order is expected to activate at least four previously stayed lawsuits challenging its legality.30Lawfare. Inside the Implementation of Schedule Policy Career
A GAO review of the Department of Education’s March 2025 RIF of its Office for Civil Rights found that placing half the office’s staff on administrative leave while the layoffs were litigated cost about $38 million in salary and benefits before the department rescinded the RIF in January 2026 and recalled the affected employees.33GAO. GAO-26-108320 That pattern — layoff, injunction, reinstatement, back pay — has defined the last eighteen months of federal RIF activity, and neither the underlying legal questions nor the proposed rules that would answer them have been resolved.