Antideficiency Act Blocks Shutdown Firings, Lawsuits Filed

With the federal government partially shut down, President Trump is pushing to permanently slash parts of the federal workforce and has directed OMB Director Russell Vought to identify agencies for cuts, with aides indicating reductions could occur even without new appropriations. Legal experts and unions say the Antideficiency Act — the 1870 statute that bars agencies from incurring obligations without congressional funding — likely prohibits permanent firings during a funding lapse because severance, benefits and administrative actions would create new obligations, and union lawyers have moved to block such efforts. Justice Department contingency plans show criminal litigation and other excepted work will continue while many civil cases may be postponed, and immigration functions such as the Executive Office for Immigration Review are largely excepted to avoid worsening backlogs. The modern practice of shutdowns stems from Attorney General Benjamin Civiletti’s 1980 reinterpretation of the Antideficiency Act, which required agencies to furlough nonessential staff when appropriations lapse. The administration’s broader claim of an impoundment authority to withhold congressionally appropriated funds has surfaced in litigation (Department of State v. AVAC), where early Supreme Court limits on review and critics’ warnings about judicial deference and partisan divisions have raised new questions about Congress’s control over spending.