Promises made, promises kept, now with the U.S. government shutdown in its 10th day.

“The RIFs have begun,” read the post on the personal X account of the White House budget chief, Russell Vought, referencing the “reductions in force” for which he had directed federal offices to prepare as the Trump administration geared up for a shutdown last week.

Few details on the volume or concentration of cuts had emerged by mid-afternoon Friday. A spokesperson from the White House Office of Management and Budget confirmed the renewed wave of terminations to Scotsman Guide while describing them as “substantial.”

Hundreds of thousands of federal employees are already furloughed, while others have been reporting to work without pay since Oct. 1.

Amid the confusion, one thing appears to be clear: The White House has moved to turn the screws on Democrats, who refuse to vote on a Republican-backed continuing resolution to reopen the government unless extensions on health care tax credits facing expiration and nonrenewal are included.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) confirmed to Scotsman Guide that the latest round of cuts are hitting the federal housing agency. HUD employees are already under strain from shutdown furloughs and previous mass layoffs.

“HUD is implementing a reduction in force to align our programs with the Administration’s priorities and the appropriations available to the department,” a HUD spokesperson said.

The scope of cuts underway are unclear, but sources familiar with the operations tell Scotsman Guide that reductions at HUD number in the hundreds, mostly concentrated in Community Planning and Development (CPD) and Block Grant programs, field office staffing, fair housing enforcement and homelessness programs.

Federal furloughs tend to impact mortgage markets supported by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Federal Housing Administration, an insurance program administered by HUD, more directly than conforming markets served by the quasi-private government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

For now, sources say, it appears that limited staffing cuts were made to FHA operations and HUD rental and mortgage programs.

When it comes to aligning staffing and appropriations with Trump administration priorities, one source described the efforts underway at HUD as an alternate version of “pocket rescissions,” used by the administration to divert congressionally approved funding to fulfill campaign promises.

Because RIFs wipe job positions from HUD payrolls, concentrated job cuts in fair lending enforcement, housing counseling and community development programs could preclude the administration from spending congressionally approved funding on those initiatives altogether.

Employees targeted for layoffs still have recourse to appeal their terminations after the government shutdown ends.

Besides processing delays, federal furloughs also mean some federal housing regulations will go unenforced for as long as the shutdown lasts. The federal government does not permit enforcement of the Fair Housing Act during shutdowns, for example.

Rural housing lending programs from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) have also been hit hard by the government shutdown, with most rural development programs ceasing, according to a “lapse of funding plan” issued the day before the shutdown.

The USDA has not responded to Scotsman Guide’s request for clarification on whether the latest round of cuts have hit their staff and respective housing operations. The VA referred Scotsman Guide to the OMB.

Multiple reports indicate that federal workers targeted for termination were dubbed “nonessential,” with employees at the Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Commerce and Department of Homeland Security also receiving layoff notices, according to Bloomberg.

Federal employees are typically furloughed during shutdowns and receive back pay after Congress votes to fund the government.

This time, the White House’s budget chief issued a memo instructing agencies to make reduction-in-force plans for programs not consistent with Trump administration priorities.

The RIF announcement arrived hours before a court-ordered deadline for the federal government to outline “any currently planned or in-progress RIF notices to be issued during/because of the government shutdown,” according to an NPR report.