Draining the Swamp 10-8-25

According to guidance from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and other federal sources regarding the October 2025 shutdown, agencies identified "non-excepted" or "non-essential" programs to be canceled and staff to be furloughed. While most furloughed employees are expected to receive back pay after the shutdown ends, the Trump administration has signaled a potential, legally contested plan for permanent mass firings within agencies whose priorities do not align with its own. 

The standard rules for shutdowns, governed by OMB and the Antideficiency Act, dictate that programs can be canceled and employees furloughed if they are not considered essential for the protection of life and property.  

Programs and services halted or disrupted

Agency-specific contingency plans for the 2025 shutdown outlined the following disruptions to non-essential services:

• Small Business Administration (SBA): The SBA has stopped approving new loans under programs like the 7(a), Microloan, and CDC 504. Other program support and application processing have also been suspended.
• Department of Education: While existing student aid and grant funding will continue, the department will not release any new grants during the shutdown.
• National Institutes of Health (NIH): New clinical trials are being delayed, and research contracts and grants to external organizations are frozen. New patients will not be admitted to its research hospital unless medically necessary.
• Food and Drug Administration (FDA): Routine inspections of food and facilities are suspended, though recalls, monitoring, and some investigations will continue.
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): The EPA has stopped approving state air and water cleanup plans and issuing new permits. Non-emergency enforcement inspections and scientific publications are also halted.
• National Park Service (NPS): Visitor centers and museums have been closed, and maintenance activities like trash collection have stopped in many parks.
• Justice Department (DOJ): While criminal investigations continue, most training for state and local officers has been canceled. Many civil legal cases will also be postponed.
• Social Security Administration (SSA): Some non-critical services have been discontinued, including benefit verifications and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. Customer service wait times have increased.
• Travel and tourism: Visitor centers and guided tours at many federal buildings and sites, including the U.S. Capitol, White House, and FBI, have been canceled. 

Employee status during a shutdown

Federal employees are generally categorized as "excepted" or "furloughed" during a shutdown, though the administration has signaled a potential departure from this practice. 

• Excepted employees: Staff in excepted roles, who perform work related to public safety or the protection of property, must continue working without pay during the shutdown. This includes most military personnel, law enforcement, Border Patrol, TSA agents, and air traffic controllers.
• Furloughed employees: These workers, whose jobs are deemed non-essential, are placed on unpaid leave. According to the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019, these employees are guaranteed back pay once a funding deal is passed. 

Potential for permanent layoffs

In October 2025, the Trump administration broke with past precedent by suggesting that the shutdown could be used to permanently fire federal workers, moving beyond the temporary furloughs of previous shutdowns. 

• Legal challenge: Federal employee unions, including the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), have filed lawsuits challenging the administration's legal basis for these potential mass firings.
• Targeted agencies: Reports indicate that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the Trump administration encouraged agencies to prepare for potential firings, specifically targeting programs "not consistent with the President's priorities".
• Contradiction with established rules: This plan directly contradicts long-standing interpretations of the Antideficiency Act and federal personnel procedures, which have historically separated temporary shutdown furloughs from permanent layoffs. The legal fight hinges on whether the administration can legally reclassify temporary, "emergency shutdown furloughs" into permanent job cuts during a funding lapse. 

https://www.google.com/search?q=according+to+omb+what+federal+programs+can+be+cancelled+and+employees+fired+and+commissions+closed+in+2025+

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader