WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has transformed the government shutdown into a tool for political punishment and sweeping workforce cuts, threatening mass firings and targeting programs linked to Democratic strongholds.
Instead of following the traditional route of furloughing employees, the White House has signaled imminent layoffs. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that dismissals are on the table, while the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) froze $18 billion in infrastructure funds meant for New York subway and Hudson Tunnel projects — home turf of Democratic congressional leaders.
Trump praised OMB Director Russ Vought, calling him a master at trimming budgets. Vought, a key architect of the Project 2025 conservative blueprint, reportedly told GOP lawmakers that layoffs would begin within days. His actions are seen as an extension of earlier cuts carried out under the Department of Government Efficiency program led by Elon Musk.
“This is cruelty as policy,” charged House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, noting that the administration has been working toward this goal since Trump’s first day back in office.
Thursday marked only the second day of the shutdown, but its effects are already reverberating. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates 750,000 federal workers will be sidelined daily, costing $400 million in wages and threatening ripple effects across the broader economy. Past shutdowns showed similar declines in demand, GDP, and private-sector income.
House Speaker Mike Johnson warned that “the longer this goes on, the more pain will be inflicted,” acknowledging the inevitable fallout of a prolonged shutdown.
The political standoff shows no signs of easing. Democrats remain adamant that healthcare funding must be protected, warning that millions of Americans could face skyrocketing insurance premiums if subsidies lapse. Republicans have opened the door to talks but insist the issue can wait until later in the year.
Vice President JD Vance suggested that negotiations on healthcare could happen eventually, but Democrats remain unconvinced. Meanwhile, Trump’s administration has found ways to protect its core priorities — including immigration enforcement and mass deportations — by redirecting funds under a sweeping budget measure passed earlier this summer.
Other agencies are not so lucky. Workers in non-priority departments will continue working without pay until the shutdown ends.
OMB has also attempted to claw back previously approved funds from programs like Head Start, clean energy, public broadcasting, and foreign aid. The Government Accountability Office has flagged these moves as violations of federal law. Still, the Supreme Court recently upheld a $5 billion foreign aid rescission, giving Trump’s administration further leeway to bypass Congress.
The high-stakes standoff threatens to drag on for weeks, with both sides entrenched and Trump seizing the moment to enforce a radical reshaping of government operations — one layoff and one frozen program at a time.