Firings of federal workers begin as White House seeks to pressure Democrats in government shutdown
WASHINGTON (AP) — Mass layoffs of federal employees have begun in an effort to put more pressure on Democratic lawmakers, the White House budget office said Friday. government shutdown continues.
Russ Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, said on social media site
A budget office spokesman said the cuts were “significant” but did not provide further details.
The White House anticipated implementing the aggressive layoff tactic shortly before the government shutdown began on Oct. 1 and told all federal agencies to submit their current reduction plans to the budget office for review. It said the reduction in force could apply to federal programs that would cease to be funded in the event of a government shutdown, are otherwise unfunded, and are “not consistent with the President’s priorities.”
This goes well beyond what typically happens during a government shutdown, when federal employees are furloughed but return to work once the shutdown ends.
Democrats have tried to call the administration’s bluff by arguing that the shootings might be illegal, and they appear emboldened by the fact that the White House has not yet carried out the shooting.
But Trump said earlier this week he would have more information soon about how many federal jobs would be eliminated.
“If this continues like this, I can tell you in four or five days,” he said when he met Canadian prime minister Mark Carney in the Oval Office on Tuesday. “If this continues, it will be significant and most of these jobs will never come back.”
Meanwhile, the halls of the Capitol were quiet on Friday, the 10th day of the shutdown; Both the House of Representatives and the Senate left Washington, and both parties engaged in a protracted shutdown battle. Senate Republicans have repeatedly tried to persuade Democratic holdouts to vote for a stopgap bill to reopen the government, but Democrats have refused as they remain committed to expanding health care benefits.
There was no sign that top Democratic and Republican Senate leaders were even talking about a way to break the impasse. Instead, Senate Majority Leader John Thune has continued to try to fleece centrist Democrats who might be willing to cross party lines as the pain of a shutdown continues.
“It’s time for them to have a backbone,” Thune, a South Dakota Republican, said at a news conference.
