As the government shutdown entered its second day with no end in sight, President Donald Trump hinted that mass federal layoffs could start as soon as Thursday as he touted a meeting with Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and longtime advocate for shrinking the federal government.
The President said in a social media post early Thursday that the meeting would “determine which of the many Democrat Agencies” should be cut. The officials would also discuss “whether or not those cuts will be temporary or permanent,” Trump wrote. “I can’t believe the Radical Left Democrats gave me this unprecedented opportunity.”
The looming federal job cuts arrive amidst a stalemate between Republicans and Democrats as the latter fights to keep health insurance premiums from spiking in the coming weeks by extending tax credits for the Affordable Care Act, also known as “Obamacare.” Democrats are also looking to reverse Medicaid cuts Republicans included in legislation passed this summer and hinder the Administration’s ability to withhold or cancel federal funding for foreign aid or public broadcasting.
Last week, the OMB released a memo warning Congress of a “reduction in force” if Democrats rejected Republicans’ funding plan. It is unclear which agencies and how many workers would be affected by the federal worker cuts, though Vought told House Republicans Wednesday that federal layoffs were “one to two” days away, according to NBC News. Since Trump’s Inauguration in January, hundreds of thousands of federal workers have left their positions after being laid off or taking offers to resign.
In response to the threat of layoffs, unions representing federal workers are preemptively fighting back. Earlier this week, the American Federation of Government Employees and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees sued the Trump Administration over the President’s plan to conduct mass firings, arguing that the threats are “contrary to law.”
“The cynical use of federal employees as a pawn in Congressional deliberations should be declared unlawful and enjoined by this Court,” the legal complaint, filed on Tuesday, reads.
In the first 24 hours of the shutdown, the Trump Administration announced it was canceling billions in funding to some Democratic-led states. Vought on Wednesday outlined plans to cut $8 billion in energy projects across 16 states, including California, Colorado, Illinois, and New York. “More info to come from [the] Energy [Department],” he wrote on X. All of the states were ones Kamala Harris won in the 2024 presidential election.
The OMB director also announced he was pausing an $18 billion climate-related project in New York City to “ensure funding is not flowing based on unconstitutional DEI principles.”
The President has warned Democrats that layoffs are not the only chip on the table. “There could be firings,” Trump told One America News in an interview set to air Thursday. “And it could also be other things. I mean, we could cut projects that they wanted, favorite projects, and they’d be permanently cut.”
In his post, Trump described Vought as “of PROJECT 2025 Fame,” referring to the sweeping policy blueprint created by the Heritage Foundation, that included proposals to shrink parts of the fedreal government through cuts and deregulation. Vought was among many Trump allies involved in Project 2025’s drafting. During last year’s campaign, Trump distanced himself from Project 2025, but has since adopted many of its proposals in his second term.
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