President Trump has issued the Defense secretary a directive to find funding to pay U.S. troops, given dollars earmarked to do so are set to run out on Wednesday due to the government shutdown.
The big picture: The Trump administration began announcing expected layoffs on Friday, saying in a court filing it is slated to fire at least 4,100 employees across multiple government agencies.
What he's saying: The president said in a Truth Social post demanding Defense "get our Troops PAID" on Saturday that he is using his "authority, as Commander in Chief, to direct our Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to use all available funds to get our Troops PAID on October 15th."
- "We have identified funds to do this, and Secretary Hegseth will use them to PAY OUR TROOPS," Trump added.
The money will come from research and development funding available for two years in the Defense Department, per a source with knowledge of the decision.
Catch up quick: In a Friday court filing responding to a union's effort to block planned layoffs, senior Office of Management and Budget adviser Stephen Billy said reduction-in-force notices have been or soon will be issued to about 1,100 Health and Human Services workers, 1,446 at Treasury, and 466 at Education.
- He added that 176 employees in Homeland Security, 315 in Commerce, 187 in Energy, 442 in Housing and Urban Development and between 10 and 30 at the Environmental Protection Agency are also slated to receive RIF notices.
Zoom in: Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) said in a statement on Friday the Trump administration has tried to fire all Community Development Financial Institutions staff at the Treasury Department.
- The CDFI fund was established in 1994 to support services for low-income and underserved communities, including rural neighborhoods.
- Waters called the planned cuts "unprecedented and unconstitutional."
The White House did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment on Waters' statement.
Go deeper:
- Trump officials say plan to layoff at least 4,100 federal workers has begun
- These are the federal agencies Trump is targeting for layoffs
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional context.
