The 2025 government shutdown is unlike any prior shutdown in U.S. history. While most shutdowns temporarily halt government operations and furlough non-essential employees, the current crisis appears to be functioning as a strategic bureaucratic purge. On October 10, the administration announced that reductions in force (RIFs) had officially begun, signaling the start of a massContinue reading “When a Shutdown Becomes a Purge: How the 2025 Government Shutdown Is Reshaping the Bureaucracy”
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The RIF Test: How the 2025 Shutdown Is Reshaping Federal Law and the Constitution
The 2025 government shutdown is not merely a political impasse; it is a stress test of the very foundations of federal employment law and, perhaps more dangerously, of the constitutional framework that governs the executive branch. On October 10, the administration announced that reductions in force (RIFs) had officially begun, setting into motion a cascadeContinue reading “The RIF Test: How the 2025 Shutdown Is Reshaping Federal Law and the Constitution”