WASHINGTON — Russell Vought, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, told House Republicans in a private call Wednesday that mass layoffs of federal workers will begin in “a day or two” if the government shutdown continues, according to a lawmaker on the call.
Vought’s timeline for “reductions in force” of federal workers comes as President Donald Trump has warned Democrats that he may eliminate “vast numbers” of federal employees under a government shutdown, which began at midnight on Oct. 1.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, during a briefing with reporters, did not elaborate on which federal departments could be affected, or how many workers could be fired. But she said layoffs are “imminent.”
Leavitt said Trump has directed the OMB to work with agencies to identify where cuts can be made. “They are, unfortunately, a consequence of this government shutdown,” she said, though she stopped short of providing a precise deadline. “Two days, imminent, very soon,” Leavitt said.
Historically, nonessential federal workers are placed on furloughs during government shutdowns, but they are not part of widespread federal workforce layoffs. Trump has also said he might use a government shutdown to eliminate federal programs he opposes. “A lot of good can come down from shutdowns,” Trump said on Sept. 30. “We can get rid of a lot of things that we didn’t want.”
Trump’s threats come after his administration has already fired tens of thousands of federal workers as part of his Department of Government Efficiency’s efforts to downsize the federal government.
On the first day of the shutdown, Vought announced plans to freeze $18 million in federal funding allocated for infrastructure projects in New York, the home state of Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer. Vought said funding for New York City’s 2nd Avenue subway expansion and Hudson River rail tunnel was halted “to ensure funding is not flowing based on unconstitutional DEI principles.”
He later announced the Trump administration is canceling $8 billion in “Green New Scam funding” for projects in 16 Democratic-led states.
