‘I’m absolutely terrified’: Federal workers brace for potential government shutdown, mass layoffs

By Marshall Cohen, Tami Luhby, Sunlen Serfaty, CNN

(CNN) — Federal employees from agencies across the US government say they’re “terrified,” “disoriented” and filled with anxiety as they brace for a possible shutdown that the Trump White House has threatened will pave the way for new rounds of fast-tracked mass layoffs.

There is widespread confusion and fear among federal workers as the Tuesday night deadline approaches for Congress to approve a spending package, according to more than a dozen employees from 11 federal agencies who spoke to CNN. Many are still waiting to find out who will be required to work through a shutdown — and who will be furloughed.

Complicating matters, the White House budget office has directed federal agencies to “use this opportunity” to prepare sweeping new layoffs, based on which programs lose funding in the event of a shutdown and which don’t align with President Donald Trump’s priorities, according to a memo obtained by CNN.

“I’m absolutely terrified about going through the same thing all over again,” said one federal worker who was fired and rehired this year as part of the Department of Government Efficiency’s cuts. “This kind of treatment is inhumane. I don’t even know how to prepare for the complete unknown.”

The federal employee, like many others who spoke to CNN, insisted on speaking anonymously because they feared retribution by the Trump administration.

“My employer doesn’t have my back,” the employee said.

In response to CNN’s inquiries for this story, a senior Trump administration official said: “It’s unfortunate that Democrats have decided to instigate a government shutdown by opposing a clean government funding extension. Their unreasonable and insane demands, like healthcare for illegal aliens and funding for NPR, will be directly responsible for this outcome.”

Trump and congressional Democrats are locked in a stalemate over the GOP’s current government funding plan, and few inside the Capitol or White House are expecting a breakthrough by the Tuesday night deadline. Democrats have said a deal must include an extension of the enhanced Obamacare subsidies, among other priorities — which have thus far been a non-starter for Republicans, at least on a short-term funding extension.

The looming shutdown is the latest twist in an already tumultuous year for federal workers.

Trump and the Elon Musk-backed DOGE team initiated an unprecedented level of mass firings across the US government. Some cuts were so haphazard that agencies scrambled to rehire employees. Other layoffs were deemed illegal by federal judges, who ordered mass reinstatements, only for appellate judges to later reverse those rulings.

One Department of Interior employee, who also requested anonymity, said that “as a middle-class American and as a mother,” she feels “disregarded and abandoned” because of the latest threats, as she preps for possible disruptions with her paycheck.

“I’ll go home today and take stock of my budget and pantry and make sure my family can ride out the next month or more, of whatever is coming,” the employee told CNN. “And then tomorrow, I’ll get up and come to work and do my best for America, until they tell me I can’t come to work anymore.”

Potential ‘backlog’ at IRS

The Internal Revenue Service has already seen a 25% reduction in staff this year, after mass layoffs and a wave of employees accepting buyout offers.

Philadelphia-based IRS employee Alex Berman, a local leader for the National Treasury Employees Union, said there is a “constant state of fearful uncertainty,” and that this shutdown threat feels different than past years.

“The added complication is that this might be used as a pretext to tell people that they don’t have a job anymore – and that isn’t how the system is supposed to work,” Berman said. “Federal employees are largely middle class. We’re wondering if our families will have a Christmas this year.”

Even if the White House’s threat of new layoffs is just “gamesmanship to try to bring the parties to the negotiating table,” Berman said, it still is sending shudders through the ranks of federal employees.

Lorie McCann, the president of NTEU’s Chicago chapter, who represents IRS employees, said she is afraid that a shutdown could hurt ordinary Americans by slowing taxpayer services.

A shutdown could “cause a backlog” for IRS employees processing tax returns for the more than 1.3 million Americans who requested extensions this year, McCann said. The deadline to file those tax returns is October 15.

McCann said it would also “be harder to implement the tax law changes,” from Trump’s signature legislative accomplishment – the law he calls the “big beautiful bill,” which changed dozens of provisions in the tax code.

“Federal employees want to do their jobs, but it’s hard to do your job when you’re scared,” McCann said. “We are your neighbors, your friends, or family members. We’re not all in DC. We want to do the jobs we were hired to do.”

Financial worries

One air traffic controller in Michigan told CNN he doesn’t need the additional stress of potentially missing a paycheck on top of his already high-pressure job. The Federal Aviation Administration emphasizes that there should be zero distractions at work, but pay is the biggest distraction right now, with a shutdown looming, the employee said.

During the most recent government shutdown, which started in December 2018 and lasted for a historic 35 days, the employee had to borrow money from his parents to help support his two kids. He also received aid from his local community, which donated food to federal staffers.

Now, the FAA employee’s family has grown larger. So he has already started cutting out unnecessary spending — such as some snacks — over the summer to build up his savings in case of a shutdown in the fall.

“This puts a huge strain on me and my family,” he said. “With a career that already is one of the most stressful jobs, lets just add a huge amount of more stress on top of that.”

That 2018-2019 shutdown ended only after staffing issues caused airspace to temporarily close at some of the East Coast’s busiest airports — and there are still workforce shortages at the FAA.

Dave Demas, correctional officer at US Penitentiary Canaan, a high-security federal prison in northeastern Pennsylvania, is considering taking out a personal loan to cover his car payments and rent depending on how long the shutdown lasts.

He and his wife are trying not to let a possible government shutdown affect their two daughters’ afterschool activities, which include gymnastics, dance classes and piano.

“We’re going to do our best to keep their lives running the same, but mine might change drastically,” said Demas, who is president of the American Federation of Government Employees chapter that represents Bureau of Prisons employees at the facility.

‘Disorienting’ situation at GSA

The looming shutdown, coupled with the potential for a new round of layoffs, has reawakened the anxiety in one General Services Administration worker who says he had finally started regaining some confidence that his job was secure after all the tumult this year.

The employee, who also served for more than 20 years in the military, thought he would spend the rest of his career in federal service but is now looking for jobs in the private sector that aren’t as stressful and uncertain.

“It’s very challenging to stay motivated and on this career path,” said the employee, who asked not to be identified for fear of reprisal. “It’s just too much mentally.”

The GSA, which oversees federal real estate and procurement, held an “all-hands” meeting on Thursday afternoon about a topic unrelated to the looming shutdown, a second GSA employee told CNN. Despite being flooded with questions about the shutdown, the senior GSA officials running the session did not address the situation, the GSA employee said.

One submitted question read, “How does being publicly threatened with a mass and permanent furlough tell me I’m ‘deeply valued’ in this organization?” according to materials obtained by CNN. Another asked, “are our jobs safe or are we getting RIF-ed anyway?” referring to proposed reductions-in-force.

A GSA spokesperson didn’t respond to CNN’s request for comment.

The second GSA employee told CNN the situation has been “incredibly disorienting” and “all the confusion and noise make it almost impossible to think clearly.”

GSA is funded by the Federal Buildings Fund. During past government shutdowns, employees have been expected to work until the agency runs out of reserve money, which typically has lasted between a few days and two weeks.

Workers waiting for guidance

At the Department of Education — which the Trump administration is in the process of trying to shut down altogether — there is now even more uncertainty.

“We are all being kept on our toes,” one employee told CNN, adding that their colleagues are “at a loss to understand and predict” what comes next.

This employee said that as of Thursday afternoon, they had not received any information from agency leadership acknowledging the possible shutdown.

Another source said there similarly hasn’t been any agency-wide guidance circulated within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, which saw mass DOGE firings followed by hundreds of re-hirings.

“We are hearing very little from leadership,” the NOAA source said. And regarding potential layoffs, “we are keeping an anxious ear to the ground.”

Hurricane season — one of NOAA’s busiest times of the year — is well underway, with Hurricane Humberto churning in the Atlantia Ocean and another potential storm brewing that is expected to impact the US next week.

There have been more proactive communications at some medical facilities run by the Department of Veterans Affairs, according to a health care provider at a VA hospital who spoke to CNN on the condition of anonymity.

The VA source said they received a message on Wednesday about the potential shutdown, saying that they would continue to deliver medical care to veterans and that they could continue to get paid. The message didn’t say anything about the threat from the White House of shutdown-fueled layoffs.

Contractors affected, too

Bonita Williams, a contractor who cleans offices at the State Department headquarters in Washington, DC, said she didn’t lose her job during previous government shutdowns, but it’s unclear what will happen this time.

“Last time, it was a struggle for me,” Williams said. “My children work for the federal government, so if they are furloughed, I’m going to have to give my kids money. Last time around, some of my kids went to food banks.”

Unlike full-time federal employees who get backpay after Congress ends a shutdown by passing a spending bill, most contractors don’t get backpay.

“I can’t prepare,” Williams said. “I’m living paycheck to paycheck.”

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CNN’s Dugald McConnell, Camila DeChalus, Annie Grayer and Brian Todd contributed to this report.