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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Michael Sainato

Government shutdown leaves federal workers ‘on edge’ as Trump eyes more job cuts

a person in the light
A worker cleans the inside of the Lincoln Memorial, which remains open to visitors, on the first day of the US government shutdown in Washington DC on 1 October 2025. Photograph: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

An estimated 750,000 federal employees are furloughed as a result of the first federal government shutdown since 2018.

Many have been “on edge for months”, according to James Kirwan, who works as a labor attorney inside a government agency. Now the Trump administration is threatening to implement another sweeping wave of cuts to their ranks.

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