US Government Shutdown deepens, with White House preparing “thousands” of job cuts
The US federal government has entered a second day of shutdown with little sign of a quick resolution, as the White House signals it is prepared to make deep, permanent cuts to parts of the civil service.
President Donald Trump has described the funding lapse as an “unprecedented opportunity” to “clear out dead wood” and said he had met budget chief Russ Vought to review which “Democrat agencies” he believes should be pared back. In a shutdown, the executive branch decides which operations are maintained and which are paused, giving the White House unusual latitude over the machinery of government.
Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said mass layoffs were “imminent” and could number in the thousands, an approach that breaks with recent practice, where federal employees are typically furloughed or told to work without pay and later receive back wages. The Office of Management and Budget has already instructed departments to prepare for reductions, and officials have moved to pause or cancel billions of dollars in projects, particularly in Democratic-led states.
Democrats accused the administration of trying to turn a budget standoff into a de facto restructuring of the state. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said “public sentiment” would force Republicans back to the table, calling the threats “chaos and cruelty”. He also criticised the White House for pushing tax cuts earlier in the year while refusing to negotiate on an extension of Affordable Care Act credits that lapse at the end of December.
Congress remains at an impasse. The Senate adjourned on Thursday for the Yom Kippur holiday without a vote. When it returns on Friday, senators are expected to consider a House-passed measure to extend funding for seven weeks alongside a Democratic alternative that would add the health-care tax credits and curb a president’s ability to rescind money previously approved by lawmakers.
The political theatre has spilled online. President Trump shared a meme casting Mr Vought as a scythe-wielding “reaper”, set to the tune of Blue Öyster Cult’s “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper”, with Vice-President JD Vance on drums and the president himself on cowbell. The band’s manager, Steve Schenck, said the group had not been contacted about use of the music.
Beyond the spectacle, the consequences of a prolonged shutdown could be far-reaching. Large parts of the federal workforce have been told to stay home without pay, while “excepted” staff continue at their posts. Passports, loans, permits and inspections are among the services that can slow or stop during a funding lapse, and government contractors, who do not receive back pay, are often hit first. Credit-rating agencies have warned in past shutdowns that repeated brinkmanship can erode confidence in US governance, raising borrowing costs for taxpayers.
The administration’s suggestion of permanent layoffs marks a notable escalation. Federal employees are protected by merit-system rules, and reductions in force require notice, objective criteria and avenues of appeal. Budget experts say using a temporary lapse in appropriations to remove staff could invite legal challenges, particularly if cuts appear targeted at disfavoured programmes or regions.
For the White House, the hard line is part leverage, part ideology. Mr Trump has long argued that Washington is bloated and that the presidency should be more forceful in reshaping the executive branch. A shutdown, by design, hands the Oval Office discretion over what keeps running. For Democrats, that is precisely the point of contention, and why they are pressing to limit the president’s ability to unilaterally block congressionally approved spending.
Republicans counter that Democrats are trying to attach policy demands to a simple stop-gap and say the quickest way to reopen government is a “clean” extension. Yet both parties are quietly preparing for a longer standoff. Agencies have issued contingency plans; unions are readying grievances; and state and local governments are bracing for delayed federal flows.
The politics are fluid but familiar. Shutdowns are rare; this is the first in almost seven years, but they tend to end the same way: with a short-term deal and no clear winner. Voters typically blame Washington as a whole, while the deeper damage is done to trust in institutions and to those least able to absorb missed pay cheques.
What happens next will hinge on whether either side can present a credible off-ramp. A narrow extension with parallel talks on the disputed health-care credits and executive rescission powers is one option. Another is for the Senate to send the House a package that pairs temporary funding with strict guardrails on how a shutdown can be administered, making retaliatory closures or politically selective cuts harder to pursue.
For now, the calculus is simple and stark. The executive branch holds most of the operational cards, Congress holds the purse strings, and the public bears the cost of both playing for time.
By I. Constantin
