Donald Trump signaled Thursday that he plans to follow through on his threat for mass layoffs of US federal workers as he ratcheted pressure on Democrats to back moves to end the government shutdown.
The Republican president announced he would meet budget chief Russell Vought “to determine which of the many Democrat Agencies, most of which are a political SCAM, he recommends to be cut, and whether or not those cuts will be temporary or permanent.”
Trump’s announcement on his Truth Social website came with the government entering the second day of a stoppage that is expected to see 750,000 employees being sent home without pay across a wide range of agencies.
Vought told House Republicans on Wednesday many of those workers would be targeted for permanent layoffs to be announced in the next day or two, echoing Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt’s threat that firings were “imminent.”
Trump has emphasized that he views cutbacks as a way of increasing pain on Democrats, arguing that “we can do things during the shutdown that are irreversible, that are bad for them and irreversible by them. Like cutting vast numbers of people out.”
The administration has also announced that it is pausing $18 million in federal funding for infrastructure projects in heavily Democratic New York City, citing concerns about diversity, equity and inclusion policies.
But the messaging on layoffs has been mixed, with Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday portraying workforce reductions as a necessary evil that the administration would rather avoid.
Vance told reporters federal agencies were not being targeted based on politics, but added: “Let’s be honest — if this thing drags on for another few days or, God forbid, another few weeks, we are going to have to lay people off.”
Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and his House of Representatives counterpart Hakeem Jeffries have dismissed the threat as an attempt at intimidation and said mass firings would not stand up in court.
Three Senate Democrats have broken with their colleagues but the rest have been voting against a House-passed resolution to keep the government funded at current levels through November 21.
The Senate is not voting on Thursday because of the Jewish Yom Kippur holiday, but another vote is expected on Friday and on most days until the standoff is resolved.
For now, Democrats are dug in on their demands for extending health care subsidies before they will agree to a funding deal.
Five additional Democratic votes would be needed to reach the 60-vote threshold in the 100-member Senate to green-light the House-passed bill.
As each side seeks to point the finger at the other over the shutdown, polling indicates that Democrats and Republicans may currently be sharing the blame.
A new poll from the New York Times/Siena shows two-thirds of respondents said Democrats should not shut down the government if Republicans do not agree to their demands.
But an NPR/PBS News/Marist poll showed more respondents would blame Republicans for a shutdown, while almost a third would blame both sides equally.
Adding to pressure on Democrats to relent and provide votes to reopen the government, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC Thursday that a shutdown could hurt economic growth.
“This isn’t the way to have a discussion, shutting down the government and lowering the GDP,” he said.
