Congressional Democrats consider adding reversal of Trump admin firings to list of shutdown demands

Several Congressional Democrats on Wednesday indicated that they support adding the reversal of the Trump administration's mass reduction in force (RIF) firings to a list of demands that would reopen the federal government.

The conversation comes the same day that a federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from firing federal workers amid a government shutdown. The government shutdown began earlier this month after the Senate failed to approve a resolution to keep the government open.

Virginia Democratic Rep. Don Beyer, who represents a district near Washington, D.C., told Politico that he supports getting a commitment from the Trump administration that it would rehire fired employees in exchange for restoring federal funding. 

“It’d be pretty unconscionable to open it up and still have to put up with those thousands and thousands of firings,” Beyer said before adding that he would ultimately leave the decision on adding it to a list of demands to Democratic leaders.

Congressional Democrats are already calling for a permanent extension to Obamacare subsidies that expire in January, and for President Donald Trump to stop trying to undo congressionally approved spending.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer also expressed support for the Trump administration to reverse the layoffs, but did not indicate whether he would add it as a requirement for a funding deal.

“The administration should reverse every single firing from last week and should stop playing politics with people’s livelihoods and their lives,” the Democratic leader said in a floor speech.

Other Democrats appeared confident that courts would undo the firings. 

The conversation surrounding the mass layoffs comes the same day that Trump warned more firings could take place Friday if the government is not reopened by then. 

The Senate is next expected to vote on the House-passed continuing resolution on Thursday morning, which would mark the 10th attempt to advance legislation that would reopen the government. 

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.