‘Growing belief’ in Washington that Trump is backing out on pledge to fire workers amid shutdown
President Donald Trump has threatened mass layoffs and other “irreversible” consequences from a government shutdown — but some in Washington believe Trump may avoid those plans, according to a report.
More than a week after the shutdown, those threats have not materialized, leading to a “growing belief” that this could be another instance of “TACO” — or “Trump Is Always Afraid”- Washington Post reported.
“It was clear to me that this was absolute bluster and slander,” Virginia Democratic Rep. James Walkinshaw said when the Office of Management and Budget issued a statement instructing agencies to consider cuts in effect in the event of a cut in funding. Washington Post. “That’s how the federal employees I represent saw it, by the way.”
Independent He requested comment from the White House.
There have still been noticeable changes in the federal workforce. Non-essential services were stopped. The president said this week that most federal employees will not be paid until the shutdown ends, contrary to the law he signed in his first term, but that some furloughed employees may be denied back pay.
There is reportedly a “growing belief” in Washington that President Donald Trump will not follow through on his threat of mass layoffs in the federal workforce during the shutdown. (AP)
Meanwhile, Trump used the shutdown to advance his own policy agenda: “Threatens to cut democratic institutions”Nearly $8 billion in grants for clean energy projects in states supporting Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris were canceled and $18 million was frozen for infrastructure projects in New York City, home of both Democratic leaders.
In the days leading up to the shutdown, Trump warned: “During the shutdown, we could do things that are irreversible, bad for them, irreversible to them, like cutting a lot of people, cutting things that they enjoy, cutting programs that they enjoy.”
Previous government shutdowns did not lead to mass layoffs. Yet on the first day of the shutdown, Vice President J.D. Vance warned that mass outages might be necessary “to keep the essential services of the American people operating.”
On Tuesday, Trump further escalated those threats, telling reporters that business could be permanently disrupted. If the shutdown continues, disruptions will be “significant.” He added: “And most of those jobs will never come back.”
The President has yet to act against these threats. Some government officials think he will never be able to deliver.
One State Department employee sees possible layoffs as an empty threat. “This is stupid even for them,” he said Washington Post. “The bar is in the basement and they somehow managed to tunnel under it.”
Similarly, one Agriculture Department employee said she has become so accustomed to Trump’s threats against federal workers that she now dismisses the president’s firing allegations as “background noise.” to mail reported.
The federal shutdown closed government buildings and delayed services. Trump threatened to not give back wages to workers who were furloughed due to the shutdown. (Getty Images)
Trump’s backtracking on many plans during his second term gave rise to the descriptor “TACO.”
abbreviation It first appeared in the context of tariffs earlier this year. Some Wall Street traders have used the term to describe the way the president makes trade policy threats that could cause the stock market to fall before he inevitably backs down on that threat and sparks a recovery. For example, after he announced the so-called “Liberation Day” tariffs in April, markets fell sharply. The following week he ordered a 90-day pause, causing the market to rise. record highs.
However, Trump has backed away from a number of stances beyond trade policies. The Department of Government Efficiency implemented sweeping layoff cuts in the administration’s early days, but then rehired hundreds of from them.
Even this week, Trump suggested he would negotiate to end the shutdown with Democrats demanding health care subsidies, but later walked back that suggestion, insisting they cave in before any discussions take place. HE wrote On Truth Social: “I’m happy to work with Democrats on Failed Health Care Policies or anything else, but they need to let our Government reopen first.”
