Confirming something that Sen. Grassley tweeted, Trump has fired another agency inspector general - this time at the Export-Import Bank The president fired 17 of the govt. watchdogs on one of the first days of his second term + the admin has called IGs "corrupt" and "partisan"

@ChrisVanHollen @RonJohnsonWI Dems previously said they will oppose Johnson's bill because it gives Trump too much latitude to decide who gets paid and who doesn't:

@ChrisVanHollen @RonJohnsonWI Senate will vote later today to proceed to Johnson's bill to pay ONLY those working during shutdown. Johnson pleads with Dems to approve preliminary vote, says they can amend it later with whatever he and CVH come up with.

👀Interesting floor debate happening in the Senate right now @ChrisVanHollen looks for UC on his bill to pay all feds on time during shutdown @RonJohnsonWI objects BUT says GOP will agree to it if CVH removes language related to preventing layoffs. They say they'll work together

Shutdown is ‘holding my veterans hostage,’ VA chief says via @EricM_Katz @GovExec https://t.co/hsTJiFF9RX via @GovExec

Ugh more scheduling headaches for @svdate's mom

ICYMI: Check out David's reporting here, which includes how private sector firms are convincing porn creators to reference every day American conveniences as subliminal messaging to North Korean viewers (who only have access to porn because they're in Ukraine on behalf of Russia)

HOWEVER Dems in the Senate, at least for now, seem poised to defeat this when it comes up for a vote later this week. "I worry that it basically is a bill that just lets the president decide who he wants to pay and who he doesn't want to pay.”

We have details on where the Interior Department, including National Parks, BLM, FWS and more, are planning to lay off 2,000 employees. NOTE: this represents only a portion of the total expected layoffs at DOI. See👇

Read our previous coverage of the planning for this here cc @AlmsNatalie

Astute readers of @GovExec will have known this was coming three weeks ago (meaning planning was well underway pre-shutdown)

Order applies to any agency/office with members of the unions that brought the suit. Court will decide on a longer-term injunction in the next two weeks.

JUST IN: Judge Illston GRANTS temporary restraining order blocking the Trump admin from taking any action to lay off any employees during or because of the shutdown. Agencies can take NO action to implement already issued RIFs. In effect for at least two weeks.

Strange back and forth between the judge, asking for a defense of the admin's actions, and the DOJ lawyer, who only wanted to discuss the proper forum for a challenge- Judge: Feds being fired and "you're not even prepared to address whether that's legal?" DOJ: "That's correct"

More from Susan Illston, the district judge in NoCal overseeing the case: "I believe that the plaintiffs will demonstrate ultimately, that what's being done here is is both illegal and is in excess of authority." Says layoffs are "politically motivated."

BREAKING: In court hearing, judge says she's "inclined" to grant temporary block on shutdown RIFs. Trump admin has "taken advantage of the lapse in government spending, in government functioning, to assume that that all bets are off, that the laws don't apply to them anymore."

DHS also revised its RIF number from 176 to down to 54. Commerce, OTOH, nearly doubled the layoff total it estimated Friday from 315 to 600.

HHS on Friday issued layoff notices to 1,760 employees, per court filing by its head of HR. As has been reported, some of those went out unintentionally due to "data discrepancies and processing errors." The final number of layoffs issued Friday is 982.

Trump suggests there could be another round of layoffs THIS FRIDAY if the government is still shut down. He says there is a "list" of programs he will release on Friday to eliminate, "and we're not going to let them come back."

So "only" around 4,200 employees in total, per a Trump admin court filing just now. That's perhaps less of an impact than expected. Other agencies are "actively considering" whether to implement RIFs, DOJ says. Full story here: