WASHINGTON ‒ The Trump administration expects to lay off more than 10,000 federal workers during the government shutdown, a top White House official said Oct. 15, as a federal judge delivered an initial blow to those plans.

"I think we’ll probably end up being north of 10,000," Russell Vought, the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, said in an interview on "The Charlie Kirk Show," the podcast of the late conservative activist.

Vought's comments came shortly before a federal judge in California ‒ on the 15th day of the shutdown ‒ halted the administration’s layoffs for now in a case brought by two labor unions. Judge Susan Illston granted the request from the plaintiffs while she considers claims that the firings were illegal.

The Trump administration began laying off federal workers amid the shutdown last Friday, Oct. 10 after repeated threats from Trump. In all, about 4,000 federal workers were fired during this initial wave of layoffs, but the OMB said Monday it will "continue the RIFs," or reductions in force, during the shutdown.

"We’re going to keep those RIFs rolling throughout the shutdown because we think it’s important to stay on offensive for the American taxpayer," Vought said on Wednesday’s podcast.

Vought also singled out certain government programs that could be cut after President Donald Trump has warned "Democrat programs" will be on the chopping block during the shutdown.

"Think of 'Green New Deal' programs at the Department of Energy. Think the Minority Business Development Agency at Commerce that divvies up grants on the basis of race. Think environmental justice at EPA," Vought said.

Agencies that were hit with the layoffs prior to the court's ruling included the departments of Education, Energy, Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Commerce and the Treasury Department.

Historically, nonessential federal workers are placed on furloughs that pause their pay during government shutdowns, but they are not part of widespread federal workforce layoffs. About 750,000 federal workers have been furloughed during the shutdown.

The Trump administration has used the shutdown to advance its agenda to shrink the size of the federal government.

The administration has previously fired tens of thousands of federal workers this year as part of Trump's Department of Government Efficiency's efforts to slash the government.

Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump's firings during shutdown expected to top 10,000 federal workers, Vought says

Reporting by Joey Garrison, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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