Democratic lawmakers say agencies aren’t reinstating as many federal employees as they should be, as part of a recent spending deal that ended the longest government shutdown.

Employees who received reduction in force (RIF) notices before the government shutdown, but were on track to be officially separated from their agencies during the shutdown, say layoff protections included in the Nov. 12 continuing resolution mean they should get their jobs back.

Agencies, however, have followed a narrower interpretation, and have only reinstated federal employees who received RIF notices between Oct 1 and Nov. 12. Agencies told a federal court last week that they rescinded shutdown-era RIF notices for more than 3,600 employees.

The continuing resolution Congress passed on Nov. 12 states that “any reduction in force proposed, noticed, initiated, executed, implemented, or otherwise taken by an Executive Agency between October 1, 2025, and the date of enactment, shall have no force or effect.”

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) is leading the push for more RIF rescissions, along with several of his Democratic colleagues.

Kaine was one of eight Democratic senators who broke ranks to pass the stopgap spending bill, only after Republicans agreed to include language that would protect federal employees from layoffs at least through Jan. 30, 2026. Kaine and his colleagues backed standalone legislation during the shutdown that would have also barred the Trump administration from moving ahead with its most recent wave of mass layoffs.

Kaine, along with Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), and Patty Murray (D-Wash.), told Small Business Agency Administrator Kelly Loeffler that the agency is “unlawfully pursuing reductions in force,” and that dozens of recently laid-off employees the agency hasn’t reinstated “have a right to continue their employment.”

Federal News Network first reported last week that SBA told 77 recently laid-off employees this week that they could get their jobs back, but rescinded that offer a day later. An SBA spokesperson said in a statement that the agency “has determined that the most recent continuing resolution signed into law does not apply to any RIFs executed by the SBA.”

The senators said the continuing resolution — particularly Section 120 of the stopgap bill — placed a moratorium on RIFs involving federal employees, and that the “moratorium is broad, clear and unequivocal.”

“Consequently, SBA is without authority to maintain any RIFs that occurred during the lapse in appropriations or to initiate or otherwise carry out any new or previously noticed RIFs,” the senators wrote in a Nov. 20 letter.

The senators are directing SBA to reinstate the SBA employees and “return them to working status with full back pay.” The letter gives SBA until this Friday to comply with their request and provide an update to their offices.

House Small Business Committee Ranking Member Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.) also sent a letter to SBA, expressing “serious concern” over the agency’s back-and-forth announcements about RIF rescissions.

Velázquez told Loeffler that “there was no justification for the change,” and that “you have deliberately sought to harm federal employees, who have dedicated their careers to helping entrepreneurs launch and grow their small businesses.”

“The erratic, cruel, and callous manner in which you handled this matter is unacceptable,” she wrote. “The law is clear, and SBA must restore these employees to their positions with back pay, effective immediately.”

Recently laid-off employees at the General Services Administration are calling on the agency to rescind their RIF notices, citing language in the recently passed continuing resolution. The American Foreign Service Association is urging the State Department to reverse RIF notices that went out this summer and took effect during the shutdown.

Recently RIF-ed Justice Department employees are also seeking reinstatement.

A former DOJ employee said about 30 recently laid-off staff from the agency’s Community Relations Service, Office for Access to Justice and the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces are also seeking reinstatement. These are all offices DOJ is seeking to eliminate or consolidate, as part of its agency reorganization plans.

The recently separated employee, who worked for the Community Relations Service, said it’s clear lawmakers meant to cover as many federal employees as possible in the layoff protections.

The Justice Department declined to comment.

The former DOJ employee said several individuals seeking reinstatement have appealed to the Merit Systems Protection Board. The former employee, however, said some have not pursued an MSPB appeal because of the cost and the long wait to receive a ruling from the board.

Others are hopeful that a federal lawsuit in Boston challenging the DOJ’s reorganization plans could eventually lead to reinstatement. The lawsuit is challenging the department’s plans to eliminate the Community Relations Service.

On Monday, members of the Congressional Equality Caucus wrote that, without CRS, DOJ would be too understaffed to handle a rise in reported hate crimes in the U.S.

“With these changes, CRS would be unable to perform its statutorily required functions with just one staff member. The dismantling of CRS is not only unlawful, it is also particularly concerning given the rise in community unrest, where CRS’s peacebuilding and mediation services would play a vital role.”

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Pentagon leaders came under fire Tuesday for unilaterally overhauling part of the department’s policy office without consulting Congress.

The Senate Armed Services Committee learned about the changes just two days before Tuesday’s confirmation hearing for Austin Dahmer, who was nominated to serve as assistant secretary of defense for strategy, plans and capabilities. 

The panel was unaware that the Pentagon had changed Dahmer’s title from assistant secretary of defense for strategy, plans and forces to “strategy, plans and capabilities.” 

The department said the change was “merely cosmetic” to better reflect the office’s mission, adding that its duties and responsibilities remain the same. But Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), the top Democrat on the committee, said that, based on the limited information the committee has received, that does not appear to be the case. 

Reed said the department quietly realigned portfolios of three deputy assistant secretaries who report to the assistant secretary of defense for strategy, plans and capabilities — the position Dahmer was tapped to fill. For instance, responsibility for AUKUS, a trilateral security partnership between the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom, used to fall under the deputy assistant secretary of defense for force development and emerging capabilities — a new policy office created by merging the Emerging Capabilities Policy Office with the Force Development Office.

Under the reorganization, oversight of AUKUS will shift to another assistant secretary of defense’s office, taking it out of Dahmer’s portfolio.

According to a memo provided to the committee, the changes took effect Oct. 8.

“Reviewing the roles and responsibilities in office is not unusual and sometimes it’s needed. Normally, when the department conducts such a reorganization, it will send to the committee a summary of those changes for our review and consideration before the committee proceeds with the nomination. This is important because the Senate has a constitutional duty to advise and consent on all Senate confirmed nominees as such having a basic understanding of a nominee’s duties is imperative to our oversight role. Unfortunately, that did not happen in this case,” Reed said.

“Rather, we were informed this weekend that these changes had been made, and they were designed to ‘realign certain policy activities and rebrand parts of the organization to better reflect the priorities of the Trump administration,’” he added.

Dahmer told lawmakers that the position’s responsibilities remain largely unchanged. 

“My understanding is that the duties and responsibilities of the position are the same and that it’s a title change,” Dahmer, who has served as deputy assistant secretary for strategy and force development since March, said.

If confirmed, Dahmer would report to Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby, whom Senators said has been impossible to reach. 

“The hardest guy to get a hold of in the Trump administration is the under secretary of defense for policy. I hope he’s watching. I’m meeting with him tomorrow. Maybe he’ll cancel on me. I don’t know,” Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) said. “He came to this committee and said, ‘I’m going to work with the Congress.’ He hasn’t, on big issues.”

Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), who leads the Senate Armed Services Committee, also criticized the policy office for lack of transparency and information sharing on major issues, including the decision to reduce military presence in Europe and pause some assistance to Ukraine. 

“I’ve noticed an unsettling trend this year. At times the Pentagon officials have pursued policies that are not in accord with President Trump’s orders or seem uncoordinated within the administration,” Wicker said. 

“Members and staff of this committee have struggled to receive information from the policy office and have not been able to consult in a meaningful way with the shop, either on the National Defense Strategy or the Global Posture Review,” he added.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) echoed the sentiment, adding that “it just seems like there’s this pigpen-like mess coming out of the policy shop that you don’t see” from other offices.

Lawmakers’ frustration with the policy shop comes as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has barred all DoD personnel from communicating with Congress unless cleared by the department’s office of legislative affairs. CNN reported this week that the department has issued a list of restricted topics that need prior approval, including the National Defense Strategy, acquisition reform, budget and reconciliation spending plans and the electromagnetic spectrum.

Dahmer testified alongside Col. Michael J. Borders, who was tapped to serve as assistant secretary of the Air Force for energy, installations and environment, and Robert Kadlec, who was nominated to be assistant secretary of defense for nuclear deterrence, chemical and biological defense policy and programs.

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