White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt tried Monday to blame Democrats for President Donald Trump’s unprecedented decision to fire federal workers during the government shutdown.
During a press briefing, Leavitt was asked about Trump’s Sunday comments blaming Democrats for the sweeping layoffs he’s threatened as a result of the government shutdown.
“The president said yesterday that Democrats will be to blame if federal workers lose their jobs. Historically, though, in past shutdowns workers have been furloughed, but they have not been laid off en masse,” said CNN’s Kaitlan Collins. “So, wouldn’t that be the president’s call to lay people off?”
“As I’ve said repeatedly, Kaitlan, this conversation about layoffs would not be happening right now if the Democrats did not vote to shut the government down,” Leavitt said.
But no one is forcing Trump to lay off workers: he’s using them as leverage to bring the Democrats to kneel.
Last month, the White House Office of Management and Budget wrote to Congress warning that if lawmakers failed to pass a short-term funding measure through November, then federal agencies would prepare for another round of mass firings, with a focus on eliminating positions where funding has been discontinued or that do not align with Trump’s agenda.
By his own admission, Trump is taking the “unprecedented opportunity” to execute the sweeping cuts to programs and departments that he doesn’t like, as outlined in Project 2025, amid other large-scale firings that were already underway. So, Leavitt’s attempt to blame Democrats for Trump’s retaliatory decision has about as much logic as saying, “Look what you made me do.”
And the president doesn’t seem to be losing any sleep over his massive layoffs. In the trough of (often racist) AI slop Trump posted last week mocking Democrats for the shutdown, he cheerleaded the efforts of his “grim reaper” OMB Director Russell Vought. Leavitt struggled at the time to explain how the president was taking the shutdown seriously, while arguing that he was allowed “to have a little fun every now and then.”
Speaking to reporters on the White House lawn Sunday, Trump termed his efforts to reduce the size of the federal work force as “Democrat layoffs.”
“They’re Democrat layoffs. They’re causing it. We’re ready to go back,” Trump said, adding “It’s up to them. Anybody laid off—that’s because of the Democrats.”
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