Trump to decide federal staffer cuts amid shutdown

President Donald Trump planned to meet with Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought and decide which Democratic government agencies will be cut back, according to a Thursday morning statement. Vought will give his opinion on which agencies should be temporarily or permanently cut, according to Trump. It’s unbelievable that left-wing Democrats gave him this unprecedented opportunity, Trump added.

Federal agencies enacted individual contingency plans in the event of a government shutdown on Wednesday, after legislators failed to pass a short-term spending extension by Tuesday, ending the government’s fiscal year. The funding lapse triggered agencies to pause nonessential services and furlough thousands of employees.

Rumors began circulating on Wednesday that Vought planned mass layoffs rather than just furloughs. Layoffs are believed to be imminent, White House press secretary Karoline Levitt said Wednesday. Unfortunately, that's just a consequence of this government shutdown, she added. The White House website has a clock timing the shutdown, for which it blamed Democrats.

Both parties began blaming the other less than a day into the shutdown, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer alleging the shutdown would end if Republican lawmakers worked to fix the American healthcare crisis. If Democrats are so worried about the shutdown’s impact, they should stop complaining and do what they can to reopen it, Vice President J.D. Vance told reporters on Wednesday.

Any negotiation updates? House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters on Thursday that legislators were at an impasse. The only way out is for Democratic senators to pass the previously approved seven-week stopgap funding bill, Johnson said. He called on electors to call their legislators and pressure Senate Democrats into reopening the government.

Dig deeper: Read Elizabeth Russell’s previous report on which agencies are still operating amid the funding lapse.