--- title: Who Trump Officials Deem Essential in Shutdown Raises Eyebrows description: Rumors are circulating around Washington that Trump's threats of layoffs is leading agencies to label more workers as "essential" canonical: https://time.com/7322462/government-shutdown-trump-confusion/ author: Philip Elliott article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-10-01T20:46:25.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:50:05.516Z article:section: Politics og:title: Who Trump Officials Deem Essential in Shutdown Raises Eyebrows og:description: Amid threats of layoffs, the number of federal workers who haven’t yet found themselves furloughed is fueling theories og:url: https://time.com/7322462/government-shutdown-trump-confusion/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7c058d15a8458431/6998ca5407a30d35f277d621/GettyImages-2238181361.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Shutdown Sign 10/1/25 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Who Trump Officials Deem Essential in Shutdown Raises Eyebrows twitter:description: Amid threats of layoffs, the number of federal workers who haven’t yet found themselves furloughed is fueling theories twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7c058d15a8458431/6998ca5407a30d35f277d621/GettyImages-2238181361.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Who the Trump Administration Says Is 'Essential' in a Shutdown Is Raising Eyebrows > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: A Government Shutdown Could Start Wednesday. Here’s How It Could Affect Your Life [Watch (HLS stream): A Government Shutdown Could Start Wednesday. Here’s How It Could Affect Your Life](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/oSuO7VVR.m3u8) (1:35)  _Published 2025-09-30. The federal government is set to shut down on Wednesday unless Congress manages to strike a last-minute agreement to pass a stopgap spending bill before the Sept. 30 funding deadline. While it's become common practice for Congress to avert a shutdown at the last possible moment, such an outcome appears increasingly unlikely as lawmakers have departed Washington with no agreement in sight._  by [Philip Elliott](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/)  ## Philip Elliott Senior Correspondent Oct 1, 2025 8:46 PM UTC  A news crew films a segment near a sign indicating that the Capitol Visitor Center is closed due to the government shutdown, on Oct. 1, 2025. A news crew films a segment near a sign indicating that the Capitol Visitor Center is closed due to the government shutdown, on Oct. 1, 2025. Tom Williams—CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images  by [Philip Elliott](https://time.com/author/philip-elliott/)  ## Philip Elliott Senior Correspondent Oct 1, 2025 8:46 PM UTC _This article is part of The D.C. Brief, TIME’s politics newsletter. Sign up_ [_here_](https://cloud.newsletters.time.com/signup?nln=dc-brief&source=dc%5Fonsite) _to get stories like this sent to your inbox._ The halls are alive with the sound of confusion. As the first day of a [government shutdown](https://time.com/7322164/government-shutdown-begins-donald-trump/) became Washington's new reality, it sure seemed like not everyone in government got the memo. Congress’ tunnels were as buzzy as always, even if House Republicans were nowhere to be seen. Federal agencies seemed to be clacking through the paces even as so-called non-essential workers were supposed to stay away. Around the District, for both federal workers and those just friendly with many, a constant question has emerged in this shutdown: Which “F” is coming for you? As in, furloughed or fired? For many, the uncertainty is paving the way to another “F”—frustration—amid a nagging sense that the understood rules of government shutdowns were being rewritten in real time. And in the absence of clear answers as to what those new rules are, there’s plenty of guessing going on. During past shutdowns, who was [furloughed](https://time.com/7322026/shutdown-federal-workers-furloughed/) and who would have to keep working without pay was clearer. Most workers, in fact, were told to stay home until the chaos was sorted out. Those deemed essential would have to continue working, despite not getting paid on a normal schedule. This time, Trump and his deputies are warning the funding lapse will be [used to dismiss](https://time.com/7322455/jd-vance-government-shutdown-layoffs/) whole pages of the federal directory. The White House’s budget chief told lawmakers on Wednesday that those final decisions could start to shake out in a day or two. Separately, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that she did not have an exact share of workers who would be on the chopping block, but confirmed [layoffs were imminent](https://time.com/7322455/jd-vance-government-shutdown-layoffs/). Earlier in the day, Bloomberg Law [reported](https://news.bloomberglaw.com/ip-law/patent-office-lays-off-some-staff-as-government-shutdown-begins) that the patent office laid off about 1% of its employees—a move that may not be shutdown-related, given that the agency is self-funded. Nonetheless, it was widely seen as an opening move that had other feds scrambling for hard answers from bosses. Amid all these threats, the number of workers who haven’t yet found themselves furloughed is raising eyebrows, according to conversations with federal workers left in a lurch and Hill staffers watching their bosses talk past each other. Some are wondering if more is at play than the essentialness of their work. If someone is furloughed, the thinking goes, they could more easily be seen as extraneous, giving the Administration an easier path to arguing they aren’t needed at all. It’s why some around Washington suspect managers are designating fewer employees for furlough than previous standoffs. (It also helps that the denominator is smaller than in the past, given Trump already hollowed-out the government earlier this year, meaning the overall pool of feds is smaller.) As a whole, the shutdown seems unevenly spread at best. While national parks, small business loans, and even the Statue of Liberty’s [torch](https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/10/01/us/government-shutdown-trump-news/f026c564-7a5a-5cb9-9c17-7e9865738b73?smid=url-share) are in limbo, the Internal Revenue Service is [open](https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/10/01/us/government-shutdown-trump-news/299bf69d-c585-591a-bae7-df635809ad1b?smid=url-share), at least for the first five days; in some cases, the Trump administration is using upgrade cash set aside in Joe Biden’s infrastructure bills to keep others working, which explains why just 2% of Treasury’s headcount had been told to stay home. Federal courts are running but it’s not clear how long their cash reserves will last. Food inspectors are sidelined but could be called back. And while nine out of 10 workers at the Environmental Protection Agency were initially set to be locked out, there is [reporting](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/01/us/politics/government-shutdown-epa-working.html?smid=url-share) that suggests the number is far smaller. For now at least, partisan instincts are [raging](https://time.com/7322235/government-shutdown-republican-democrat-lawmakers-react-blame-game/) and answers are in short supply. The Senate on Wednesday again failed to break the logjam and House Speaker Mike Johnson said his GOP-led chamber would not be voting until next week at the earliest. The Department of Agriculture and the Department of Housing and Urban Development have posted on their websites that this is Democrats’ fault, a brazen push into politics that breaks with past neutrality. An Undersecretary of State [emailed](https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/10/01/us/government-shutdown-trump-news/73278a44-626f-5231-9010-4b8cfa05d020?smid=url-share) employees a note blaming Democrats for workers’ situations. Trump is leaning into his powers of impoundment, a maneuver through which the President simply decides not to spend money that Congress earmarked for programs. So-called pocket recissions are a step well beyond what past Presidents have done to tailor spending and could be a prelude to mass firings. The Interior Department, for instance, [told](https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/10/01/us/government-shutdown-trump-news/f026c564-7a5a-5cb9-9c17-7e9865738b73?smid=url-share) employees to take home their phones and laptops to keep an eye out of dismissals. Still, Washington is still figuring out just how big of a deal this shutdown will be. Some workers were milling about government offices on Wednesday looking for answers. The easiest one? Will their keycard still let them into their office suites? ### More from TIME _Make sense of what matters in Washington._ [_Sign up for the D.C. Brief newsletter_](https://cloud.newsletters.time.com/signup?nln=dc-brief&source=dc%5Fonsite)_._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7322462/government-shutdown-trump-confusion/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7322462/government-shutdown-trump-confusion/"},"headline":"Who the Trump Administration Says Is 'Essential' in a Shutdown Is Raising Eyebrows","datePublished":"2025-10-01T20:46:25.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:50:05.516Z","description":"Some agencies may be furloughing fewer workers than expected in this shutdown","url":"https://time.com/7322462/government-shutdown-trump-confusion/","keywords":["The D.C. 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