Senate Republicans quietly negotiated with Democrats to reverse the Trump administration’s layoffs of government workers as part of a deal to end the government shutdown, eventually getting the White House to buy in despite their initial resistance.
Office of Management and Budget Director (OMB) Russ Vought laid off thousands of government workers through reductions in force (RIFs) during the shutdown, a move that was lauded by much of the Republican Party. However, those bureaucrats will be returning to work under the Senate’s bill to reopen the government, which was supported by eight Democrats. (RELATED: Democrats Are Terrified Of Trump’s Shutdown Slasher — And They Should Be)
As negotiations advanced through November during the longest shutdown in history, the White House became more comfortable with the idea of rehiring laid off workers, but still wanted to avoid language that banned future RIFs, according to Punchbowl News.
It was a core group of Republicans negotiators, including Alabama Sen. Katie Britt and Maine Sen. Susan Collins, who eventually got the White House to buy in on a deal to ban RIFs — but only through the end of a Continuing Resolution on Jan. 30.
“President Trump has wanted the government reopened since the first day Democrats shut it down. The action in the Senate is a positive development and we look forward to seeing it progress,” a White House official told the Daily Caller when asked about the RIFs language.
The RIF agreement was the final piece that helped clinch the shutdown deal, according to six people involved in the bipartisan negotiations, Politico reported. (RELATED: SEN KATIE BRITT: President Trump Has Kept His Promises In His First 100 Days)
The 41-day Schumer Shutdown is coming to an end. Proud to have played a role in forging a pathway forward and getting back to the work of the American people. pic.twitter.com/c2NyJ293FE
— Senator Katie Boyd Britt (@SenKatieBritt) November 11, 2025
A spokesperson for Britt declined to expand on whether reinstating laid-off federal workers was indeed a necessary step to secure an agreement and how the position squares with the Trump administration’s efforts to shrink the federal workforce. (RELATED: Air Travel May Not Fully Recover Post-Shutdown, With Thanksgiving Season Around The Corner)
“Senator Britt agrees with President Trump that the deal to end the Schumer Shutdown is ‘very good,’” the spokesperson said.
Trump on Monday told ABC News White House correspondent Karen Travers regarding the promise to rehire federal workers, “I’ll abide by the deal. The deal is very good.”
“I’ll abide by the deal. The deal is very good.”
When asked by @KarenTravers, President Trump said he would abide by the Senate deal’s language on reversing mass firings the administration implemented during the shutdown. https://t.co/0cTL9ImznQ pic.twitter.com/RkeBhzJ1vw
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) November 10, 2025
Although GOP senators found common ground with the White House on advancing the Senate resolution to end the shutdown — even if it meant making concessions to Democrats — some within the party remain uneasy, questioning whether the compromise sets a risky precedent.
Rachel Bovard, vice president of programs at the Conservative Partnership Institute (CPI), argued that Democrats may request further bans on RIFs and warned fellow Republicans not to “tie our hands” on reducing government bloat.
“If this is what it takes to get us out of the shutdown, fine, whatever. But this is going to be a battle going forward. Democrats are going to demand this as a rider on every government funding bill going forward. We cannot play this game,” Bovard said. “We cannot be a party that campaigns on dismantling the administrative state and that happily ties our hands from doing so for the foreseeable future. It’s a temporary matter, fine, but going forward this can’t be how we do things.”
Tim Kaine beelined toward Katie Britt on the Senate floor to shake her hand. He thanked her for convincing WH on barring future RIFs.
Without that, the deal would’ve collapsed. Kaine was 60th vote.
Britt leveraged close WH ties & worked phones overnighthttps://t.co/c6PPuBIQaL
— Andrew Desiderio (@AndrewDesiderio) November 11, 2025
Reversing RIFs was arguably an easier point of negotiation for Collins, who said in an Oct. 10 statement that she opposed Vought’s attempt to permanently get rid of federal workers during the shutdown.
“I strongly oppose OMB Director Russ Vought’s attempt to permanently lay off federal workers who have been furloughed due to a completely unnecessary government shutdown caused by Senator Schumer,” Collins said in the statement. “Regardless of whether federal employees have been working without pay or have been furloughed, their work is incredibly important to serving the public. Arbitrary layoffs result in a lack of sufficient personnel needed to conduct the mission of the agency and to deliver essential programs, and cause harm to families in Maine and throughout our country.”