Federal employees can expect layoffs by the end of the week, according to senior Trump administration officials.
In a private call Wednesday with members of the GOP, Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought announced that “consequential” layoffs will begin in “a day or two,” reported NOTUS’s Reese Gorman.
That timeline was confirmed by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who informed journalists later Wednesday that layoffs were “imminent.”
“They are, unfortunately, a consequence of this government shutdown,” she said.
She did not elaborate on the scope of the layoffs, which agencies would be targeted, or what percentage of the workforce was at risk of losing their jobs. But one demographic is in danger of getting axed: Democrats, according to Donald Trump.
Hours before the government shutdown over a bipartisan disagreement on funding Trump’s agenda, the president warned that it would be Democrats who would face the consequences for the congressional failure—even though it is Republicans who currently control every branch of the federal government.
“The Democrats want to shut it down,” Trump commented during a news conference at the White House Tuesday afternoon. “So, when you shut it down, you have to do layoffs. So, we’d be laying off a lot of people that are going to be very affected. And the Democrats, they are going to be Democrats.”
Vice President JD Vance brushed off Trump’s threats when he joined the press conference Wednesday, suggesting that the president should not be taken at his word.
“Has the administration asked agencies to target federal workers whom they believe to be Democrats in these reduction in workforce—” asked a reporter.
“We’re not targeting federal agencies based on politics,” Vance insisted in a sprawling answer that continued to point blame at Democratic leadership.
“We’re targeting the people’s government so that as much as possible of the essential services can continue to function,” he continued. “That is the question the president has asked the entire government is—fundamentally—okay we’re going to shut down. That causes some problems: the troops aren’t getting paid, there’s nothing we can do about that while the government is shut down, but there are some essential services that we want to make sure—as much as possible—they still continue to function. That is the principle that is driving us forward during this shutdown.”
“He said, ‘They are going to be Democrats,’” a reporter reiterated.
The divisive and partisan language espoused thus far by the Trump administration during this shutdown not only defies longstanding presidential tradition, but is also in violation of the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch, according to ethics experts. It could also be in potential violation of the Hatch Act, which is designed to limit partisan messaging from federal employees.
The post Top Trump Official Warns “Consequential” Layoffs Are Coming appeared first on New Republic.
