The White House says the layoffs are imminent on government shutdown
Spokesperson Caroline Leavbit says that as the nation enters partial government shutdown, layoffs for federal workers could begin imminently.
WASHINGTON – The federal government shutdown entered its second day Thursday, with President Donald Trump, Congress’ Republican allies and Democrats showing no signs of a bub extension amid a deadlock over fundraising for the government.
The senator will leave town until Friday to observe Yom Kipur’s Jewish holidays. This means that the first closure since 2019 will last at least one day. However, given the lack of progress towards compromise, the pulled shutdowns that last several more days are likely to increase.
Hanging in a deadlock is the threat of President Donald Trump ending federal workers. White House officials warned that mass shootings by federal workers are “immediate” under the closure. Russell Vert, director of White House management and budget director, told Republican lawmakers in a personal call Wednesday that the mass cuts will begin in “a day or two.”
The main fixed point between the two remains a change in healthcare policy that Democrats have called for as part of laws to fund the government. House Republicans want the government to continue operating at the existing funding level, but despite the majority, the Senate is short of 60 filibuster proof votes.
Long-term government closures can have a major impact on childcare
The federal government’s dollars and programs support childcare facilities across the country, including Head Start and Childcare and Development Block grants. The Head Start program, which includes the Grant Cycle, which begins in October, can experience chaos in the short term, according to its focus on Children, a bipartisan advocacy nonprofit focused on women and children’s support. A long-term shutdown could mean a closed classroom.
Sidney Petersen of the National Center for Women’s Law said it is unlikely that most federal Head Start programs will be affected. “But if the shutdown continues, that can change.” There are few Head Start programs (which affect around 6,500 children and families) that have a fundraising cycle that began on October 1st.
Another organization building federal support for early childhood learning programs, the first five-year fund posted about the closure on October 1, saying, “There are causes of surveillance concerns, but the cause of panic.” The analysis shows that while childcare services are unlikely to be destroyed in the short term, “the longer the shutdown continues, the more likely the Head Start program will feel confused.”
Labor caregivers are particularly vulnerable to the effects of government closures, according to a survey by the Human Resources Association.
-Madeline Mitchell
What’s open during government closures?
There are some services that remain open despite the government being shut down.
These include the US Postal Service, Banks, Air Transport Management and the Courts. Federal law enforcement agencies, including FBI, DEA and prison staff, will remain open. The Secret Service and the Coast Guard will continue their duties.
All active staff remain at work, but almost half of the War Ministry’s 741,477 civilian employees could face Farrow.
Generally, the national parks remain open and “the park’s roads, observation decks, trails and outdoor monuments remain accessible to the public,” according to the Ministry of Interior’s emergency response plan.
-Sudiksha Kochi, Natalie Neysa Alund, Saman Shafiq
Some lawmakers require that they withhold their pay while the shutdown continues
Lawmakers will continue to receive their salaries during the closure under Article 6 of the U.S. Constitution, which protects Congressional salaries.
However, some members say they have requested that they withhold their pay until the shutdown is over. Pennsylvania Democrat Chrissy Houlahan wrote to X that he didn’t receive his salary during the last government shutdown and he won’t receive his salary now.
Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy and Pennsylvania Demo Chris Delugio have posted images of letters they each wrote.
White House press chief Caroline Leavitt has blown up Democrats who continue to accept salaries while the closure delays the salaries of 1.3 million active duty veterans, 150,000 federal law enforcement officers and 13,000 Air Force Transportation Officers.
“I saw some Democrats today saying they have three kids in their homes and they still want to accept their pay because they have feeding mouths,” Leavitt told reporters Oct. 1.
– Sudicsha Kochi and Bad Jansen
Trump considers considering shutting down federal agencies
President Donald Trump met with management and Budget Director Russ Vert to decide on a “democratic institution” to remove to save money during the closure.
Trump has warned of “irreversible” cuts during the closure, and with no Congressional spending laws funding the government, it will be easier to achieve “spread” layoffs during the closure. Vought helped draft the Project 2025 report with recommendations and extensive agency cuts.
“I can’t believe the radical left Democrats have given me this unprecedented opportunity,” Trump said in an October 2 social media post.– Defeat Janssen
DOJ asks to delay the trial when it closes
The Justice Department has begun asking federal courts to delay lawsuits during the closure by claiming that lawyers and other staff are prohibited from working voluntarily.
However, lawyers opposed the government in at least two cases opposed the demand. One case involves the expulsion of Salvador’s migrant combative deportation to Kilmer Abrego Garcia, Esvatini. Other incidents involve DC attempting to stop President Donald Trump from deploying the National Guard in federal cities.
Until Congress reaches a funding compromise to reopen the government, the federal defendants’ judicial attorneys and employees are “prohibited from working voluntarily” except in “an emergency that involves the safety of human life or the protection of property.”
However, he pointed out that Garcia was against the demand.
Maryland District Judge Paula Sinnis heard the hearing on October 24th to hear debate about preventing deportation or dismissing the lawsuit.
In the case of DC, US District Jia Cobb set a series of submission deadlines this month that Shumate was asked to postpone. However, DC Attorney General Brian Schwarb said the department’s closure guidance will allow the allegations to block government action despite expenditure lapses.
“This case is a poor candidate to create exceptions from that approach,” Schwarb wrote in his submission. “At present, more than 2,300 armed National Guard forces are illegally patrolling districts, and their unprecedented developments are irreparable damage to the district’s sovereignty, its economy and public safety.”
– Defeat Janssen
Trump was not made public on the first day of the shutdown, and the White House instead deployed Vice President J.D. Vance to address the media. Vance denounced the Democrat’s “Chuck Schumer Aock Wing” for what he called “Democrat closure.”
Vance asked Democrats to vote to reopen the government, and later engaged in separate negotiations on health policy. But Congressional Democrats have continued to demand a reversal of Medicaid cuts, which Republicans passed this year and include expanding healthcare subsidies in funding measures.
“Donald Trump and the Republicans have shut down the federal government because they don’t want to provide health care to working-class Americans,” said Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic leader in the House.
Trump and Republicans rebutted by accusing Democrats of illegally providing medical care to immigrants in the country. Democrats call the claim a lie, noting that undocumented immigrants are not eligible for payments from Medicare, Medicaid, or Affordable Care Acts.
– Joey Garrison
Social Security Checks will continue to be provided during shutdowns. Medicare and Medicaid benefits are still paid, but many other aspects of the federal government have been suspended during the closure.
All federal agencies and services that staff do not consider to be “essential” must stop working during the closure.
According to the Non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, roughly 750,000 “essential” federal employees, from national park workers to financial regulators, can get bored every day during the closure if they withhold about $400 million in compensation each day.
Federal workers in critical services such as Postal Services, Medicare and Social Security Services, Air Transport Management and the military will continue to work, but will not be paid until government resumes.
Trump has no plans to meet again with Democratic Congressional leaders following the meeting at the beginning of the week. And amid signs of inequality, the White House continues to troll Jeffries in a video depicting a false mustache and a Sombrero Democrat leader.
Prior to the shutdown, Trump posted an AI-generated video to his social media account. By Wednesday afternoon, the White House was playing controversial ads on the loop on the TV in the Press Briefing Room.
Vance dispels criticism from Jeffries and other Democrats, known as video racists. The video also includes Schumer’s make-up audio that makes dim-like comments about immigrants, just as Mariachi’s music was played in the background.
“President’s joke,” Vance said Wednesday when asked about the video. “And we’re having a good time.”
The Vice President added: “I said Hakeem Jeffries is racist. I know he said that. I honestly don’t even know what that means.
– Joey Garrison
White House budget director Vought told House Republicans in a private call Wednesday that a massive layoff for federal workers would begin with “a day or two or two.”
White House spokesman Caroline Leavitt did not detail which federal departments could be affected or how many workers would be fired during a briefing with reporters. However, she said the layoffs were “immediate.”
Historically, nonessential federal workers have been placed in fur during government shutdowns, but they are not part of a widespread federal workforce layoff. Trump also said he may use government closures to eliminate federal programs he opposes. “Many profits can get off the closure,” Trump said on September 30.
Trump’s threat comes after his administration fired tens of thousands of federal workers already as part of the Department of Government Efficiency efforts to reduce the federal government.
– Joey Garrison
