The Trump administration announced Friday that federal layoffs had begun, as the federal government shutdown entered its 10th day. "The RIFs have begun," Russell Vought, White House Office of Management and Budget director, said on social media platform X, referring to "Reduction in Force." The brief post did not disclose the number of employees affected or the specific departments involved. According to U.S. media reports, this round of federal layoffs could be large in scale and wide in impact. A court document released by the U.S. Department of Justice on Friday evening showed that seven agencies began sending layoff notices to over 4,000 employees, including the Department of Commerce, the Department of Education, the Department of Energy, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of the Treasury. Among them, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of the Treasury plan to lay off a relatively large number of employees, involving 1,100 to 1,200 staff members and 1,446 staff members respectively. The document is in response to an urgent motion proposed by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, both of which had filed a lawsuit challenging the legality of Vought's announced plans to carry out layoffs during the shutdown. U.S. President Donald Trump and White House officials repeatedly stated that federal workers would face layoffs if the government shutdown occurs, and they blamed Democrats for the situation. Democratic leaders, however, argued that Republicans were attempting to use federal employees as pawns in this budget dispute, calling it intimidation and threat. On Friday, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Education confirmed that the department has been included in a new round of layoffs, with further staff reductions expected. The Education Department is one of the agencies targeted for complete abolition by the Trump administration. Earlier this year, the department had approximately 4,100 employees, but this number was nearly halved during Trump's mass layoffs. As of Oct. 1, the department had about 2,500 employees. The Department of Homeland Security also announced on Friday that its subordinate agency, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), has begun layoffs. The CISA, which employs around 2,500 staff members, has frequently been criticized by Trump administration officials. A report by The New York Times suggested that attempting to dismiss federal workers during the government shutdown could further escalate the current fiscal deadlock and come at a high cost. Trump is exploiting the shutdown to reorganize the federal budget and retaliate against political opponents. The video shows: Washington D.C., USA - Date Unknown (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland) 1. Various of White House Washington D.C., USA - October 2024 (CCTV Video News Agency - No access Chinese mainland) 2. Various of White House, national flag of United States 3. Various of Capitol Hill, U.S. national flag 4. Various of building of U.S. Department of Treasury Washington D.C., USA - Dec 22, 2018 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland) 5. Washington Monument Washington D.C., USA - October 2024 (CCTV Video News Agency - No access Chinese mainland) 6. Various of traffic New York City, USA - Oct 2024 (CCTV Video News Agency - No access Chinese mainland) 7. Various of pedestrians Philadelphia, USA - Oct 2024 (CCTV Video News Agency - No access Chinese mainland) 8. Traffic 9. Pedestrians, U.S. national flag Washington D.C., USA - October 2024 (CCTV Video News Agency - No access Chinese mainland) 10. Various of U.S. national flags [Restrictions: No access Chinese mainland]