Democrats Threaten to "Shut Down" the Government. Trump can PERMANENTLY fire employees during a Shutdown

[Melensdad]

Stakes could not be higher.

We have a President who wants to SHRINK government. We have a Democratic party that wants to persevere and grow government. The Democrats may have miscalculated. But the Republicans may not have planned well enough to fire enough of the correct people if the government shuts down. I'm sure the administration is working 24/7 right now to plan for massive firings.

And under a shut down, the firings could be permanent. Which is what the DOGE group was working toward by identifying waste, fraud and abuse. Identify those things and you can identify the employees who are no longer needed.

Article from AXIOS (a far left source) is archived here: https://archive.is/GagCQ

Trump White House signals mass firings if government shuts down​

The White House is threatening to use a potential short-term spending lapse to make long-term changes to the federal workforce.
Why it matters: Thousands of government employees could permanently lose their jobs if Congress doesn't reach an agreement to fund the government by Oct. 1.

• "It has never been more important for the Administration to be prepared for a shutdown if the Democrats choose to pursue one," Russ Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, wrote to agencies and departments Wednesday evening.
• Vought is instructing agencies to send "Reduction in Force (RIF) notices for all employees" in programs that are "not consistent with the president's priorities," according to the memo.

Yes, but: Vought is also indicating that programs that received money in the "one big beautiful bill" will not be targeted.

Between the lines: Vought is setting up a two-track approach that would be triggered by a potential shutdown.

• Jobs would be spared in programs focused on border security, immigration enforcement and national defense.
• Entire programs could be hollowed out if Vought determines they are not consistent with the president's agenda.

What they're saying: "This is an attempt at intimidation. Donald Trump has been firing federal workers since day one — not to govern, but to scare," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a statement responding to Vought's plan.

• "This is nothing new and has nothing to do with funding the government. These unnecessary firings will either be overturned in court or the administration will end up hiring the workers back, just like they did as recently as today."

Zoom out: The Vought memo, which was first reported by Politico, marks a dramatic escalation over a government shutdown, with the White House all but daring Democrats not to support a short-term spending stopgap before Oct. 1

• House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Speaker Mike Johnson aren't even talking about how to avoid a government shutdown next week, Jeffries told reporters Wednesday. Trust is low.
• Democrats are demanding that President Trump and Republicans negotiate with them.

• "He's not the king. He can't just dictate," Schumer said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" Wednesday.
• The House passed a short-term spending bill last week, but it failed in the Senate, where it will need at least eight Democratic votes to clear a 60-vote procedural hurdle.

Zoom in: Schumer allowed a six-month spending bill to move forward in March, but was torched by his progressive base for capitulating to Trump.

• He's now under enormous pressure not to compromise again – or at least win some significant policy concession for supplying the votes to keep the government open.
• Republicans are insisting that a short-term bill should not have major policy changes attached to it, but Senate Majority Leader John Thune is open to discussing some of the Democrat's requests, like extending premium tax credits for Obamacare health insurance, under regular order.

The bottom line: Democrats always feared that Vought would seize on a shutdown to achieve partisan goals that could never be accomplished legislatively

• He's showing them that they aren't wrong.

 

[Melensdad]

And more on PERMANENT firings of non-essential government employees. This from POLITICO, which is a left of center news source that generally tires to be accurate.

Got to think this is going to create a huge amount of heartburn for Senator Schumer and Minority Leader Jefferies.

Add the serious threat of actual firings to the recent Rasmussen poll that showed most voters would blame Democrats for a shutdown. A smaller amount would blame Republicans, and about 20% would blame President Trump.

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/24/white-house-firings-shutdown-00579909

FULL STORY AT LINK ^^^

In the memo, OMB told agencies to identify programs, projects and activities where discretionary funding will lapse on Oct. 1 and no alternative funding source is available. For those areas, OMB directed agencies to begin drafting RIF plans that would go beyond standard furloughs, permanently eliminating jobs in programs not consistent with President Donald Trump’s priorities in the event of a shutdown.​

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The move marks a significant break from how shutdowns have been handled in recent decades, when most furloughs were temporary and employees were brought back once Congress voted to reopen government and funding was restored. This time, OMB Director Russ Vought is using the threat of permanent job cuts as leverage, upping the ante in the standoff with Democrats in Congress over government spending.​

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“Programs that did not benefit from an infusion of mandatory appropriations will bear the brunt of a shutdown,” OMB wrote in the memo. Agencies were told to submit their proposed RIF plans to OMB and to issue notices to employees even if they would otherwise be excepted or furloughed during a lapse in funding.​

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Programs that will continue regardless of a shutdown include Social Security, Medicare, veterans benefits, military operations, law enforcement, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection and air traffic control, according to an OMB official granted anonymity to share information not yet public.​