Fact Check: "The administration terminated a large swath of contractors last month."
What We Know
The claim that the administration terminated a significant number of contractors last month is rooted in the context of a potential government shutdown due to a lapse in appropriations. According to the FY 2024 Pre-Lapse in Appropriations Notice to Contractors, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts issued a notice on September 25, 2023, informing contractors that if a government shutdown occurred, it could lead to the cancellation of planned procurements and the termination or reduction of existing contracts. The notice explicitly states that existing contracts may be "stopped, reduced in scope, terminated, or partially terminated" if funding is not enacted by the deadline of September 30, 2023.
This notice indicates that while there was a possibility of contract terminations, it was contingent on the actual occurrence of a government shutdown, which had not yet taken place at the time of the notice. Therefore, while the administration was preparing for potential terminations, it does not confirm that a large number of contractors were definitively terminated.
Analysis
The claim relies heavily on the implications of the notice regarding potential contract terminations. The notice itself does not report that terminations had already occurred but rather outlines the possible actions that could be taken if the government were to shut down. This distinction is crucial; it suggests that while the administration was preparing for potential terminations, no actual terminations had been confirmed at the time of the notice.
Furthermore, the source of this information, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, is a credible government entity responsible for the administration of the federal judiciary. However, the language used in the notice is somewhat speculative, indicating potential actions rather than definitive outcomes. This means that while the administration may have been poised to terminate contracts, the actual execution of such terminations was not guaranteed.
In contrast, other sources discussing government shutdowns and contractor rights indicate that termination processes are complex and often involve formal notifications and procedures, which were not detailed in the notice (A Contractor's Guide to the Impending Government Shutdown, A Primer on a Federal Contractor's Rights When a Contract is Terminated).
Conclusion
The claim that "the administration terminated a large swath of contractors last month" is Partially True. While the administration did issue a notice indicating that terminations could occur due to a potential lapse in appropriations, there is no evidence that a significant number of contractors were actually terminated at that time. The situation was contingent on the outcome of legislative actions regarding government funding, which had not yet transpired.
