Reuters

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump&#39;s administration on Wednesday froze $26 billion for Democratic-leaning states, following through on a threat to use the government shutdown to target Democratic priorities.&nbsp;The targeted programs included $18 billion for transit projects in New York, home to Congress&#39;s top two Democrats, and $8 billion for green-energy projects in 16 Democratic-run states, including California and Illinois.&nbsp;Vice President JD Vance, meanwhile, warned that the administration might extend its purge of federal workers if the shutdown lasts more than a few days.&nbsp;The moves made clear that Trump would carry out his threat to take advantage of the shutdown to punish his political opponents and extend his control over the $7 trillion federal budget, established by the US Constitution as the domain of Congress.&nbsp;&quot;Billions of dollars can be saved,&quot; he wrote on Truth Social late on Wednesday.&nbsp;The government shutdown, the 15th since 1981, suspended scientific research, financial oversight, environmental cleanup efforts and a wide range of other activities.&nbsp;Approximately 750,000 federal workers were ordered not to work, while others, such as troops and Border Patrol agents, began working without pay. The Department of Veterans Affairs said it would provide burials at national cemeteries but would not erect headstones or mow the grass.&nbsp;Vance said at a White House briefing that the administration would be forced to resort to layoffs if the shutdown lasts more than a few days, adding to the 300,000 who will be pushed out by December. Previous shutdowns have not resulted in permanent layoffs.&nbsp;The US Patent and Trademark Office said it would lay off 1% of its 14,000 employees, according to an internal letter seen by Reuters.&nbsp;Schumer alleges shutdown &lsquo;blackmail&rsquo;Hakeem Jeffries, the top Democrat in the House of Representatives, said the funding freeze for subway and harbor projects in his home of New York would throw thousands out of work.&nbsp;Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer, also from New York, said Trump was targeting regular Americans for partisan aims.&nbsp;&quot;He is using the American people as pawns, threatening pain on the country as blackmail,&quot; Schumer said.&nbsp;Republican Senator Thom Tillis said he was concerned that the freezing of infrastructure funds for New York could make it harder for Congress to exit the shutdown.&nbsp;&quot;They need to be really careful with that, because they can create a toxic environment here,&quot; Tillis said. &quot;So hopefully they&#39;re working with the leader, and the leader with them, on not creating more work to get us out of this posture.&quot;&nbsp;Republican Senate Leader John Thune dismissed concerns that the spending freeze amounted to hostage-taking.&nbsp;&quot;Well, vote to open up the government, and that issue goes away, right? I mean, it&#39;s pretty straightforward,&quot; he said at a press conference.&nbsp;Jeffries said he had not had any contact with the White House since a meeting with Trump earlier in the week.&nbsp;&quot;We haven&#39;t heard from the White House since the White House meeting on Monday,&quot; he said in a CNN interview. &quot;Clearly, they wanted to shut the government down.&quot;&nbsp;Different day, different vote, same resultsMeanwhile, the Senate again rejected efforts to keep the government functioning as both a Republican proposal that would fund the government through November 21 and a Democratic vote that would pair funding with additional health benefits failed in floor votes.&nbsp;Trump&#39;s Republicans hold a 53-47 Senate majority, but they need the support of at least seven of Schumer&#39;s Democrats to meet the chamber&#39;s 60-vote threshold for spending bills.&nbsp;At issue on the government funding front is $1.7 trillion for agency operations, which amounts to roughly one-quarter of annual spending. Much of the remainder goes to health and retirement programs and interest payments on the growing $37.5 trillion debt.&nbsp;A bipartisan group of senators huddled on the floor during the vote, trying to find a path forward.&nbsp;&quot;I want to see that a deal is a deal, and I would like to see the Republicans make a commitment to work with us on health care,&quot; said Senator Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat who represents many federal workers near the nation&#39;s capital. &quot;But I&#39;ve never said that has to be all I&#39;s dotted and T&#39;s crossed because that could be complicated.&quot;&nbsp;Democrats are also seeking guarantees that Trump will not be able to ignore spending bills he signs into law, as he has repeatedly done since returning to office.&nbsp;Both sides sought to pin the blame on the other, looking for an advantage ahead of the 2026 midterm elections that will determine control of Congress.&nbsp;Democrats said Republicans were responsible for the disruption, as they control the levers of power in Washington.&nbsp;Republicans said Democrats were surrendering to partisan pressures to oppose Trump, even though they have routinely backed spending bills in the past. They also repeated a false claim that the Democratic proposal would extend health coverage to people who are in the country illegally.&nbsp;According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the Democratic plan would only restore coverage to certain categories of immigrants who are in the country legally, such as asylum seekers and people on work visas.&nbsp;Several government agencies posted notices on their websites blaming the &quot;radical left&quot; for the shutdown - a possible violation of a law known as the Hatch Act meant to insulate nuts-and-bolts government services from partisan politics.&nbsp;The longest US government shutdown, which stretched over 35 days in 2018-2019 during Trump&#39;s first term, ended in part after flight delays caused by air traffic controllers calling in sick.

government shutdown 2025, federal govt shutdown, US Congress

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The targeted programs include $18 billion for transit projects in New York, home to Congress's top two Democrats, and $8 billion for green-energy projects in 16 Democratic-run states, including California and Illinois.

White House freezes funds for Democratic states in shutdown slap

WASHINGTON: The White House is telling agencies to prepare large-scale firings of federal workers if the government shuts down next week.&nbsp;In a memo released Wednesday night, the Office of Management and Budget said agencies should consider a reduction in force for federal programs whose funding would lapse next week, that are not otherwise funded and are &ldquo;not consistent with the President&#39;s priorities.&rdquo; That would be a much more aggressive step than in previous shutdowns, when federal workers not deemed essential were furloughed but returned to their jobs once Congress approved government spending.&nbsp;A reduction in force would not only result in layoffs but also eliminate their positions, triggering yet another massive upheaval in a federal workforce that has already faced major rounds of cuts this year due to efforts by the Department of Government Efficiency and elsewhere in the Trump administration.&nbsp;Once any potential government shutdown ends, agencies are asked to revise their reduction-in-force plans &ldquo;as needed to retain the minimal number of employees necessary to carry out statutory functions,&rdquo; according to the memo, which was first reported by Politico.&nbsp;This move from OMB significantly increases the consequences of a potential government shutdown next week and escalates pressure on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. The two leaders have kept nearly all of their Democratic lawmakers united against a clean funding bill pushed by President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans that would keep the federal government operating for seven more weeks, demanding immediate improvements to health care in exchange for their votes. Democrats refuse to budge In statements issued shortly after the memo was released, the two Democrats showed no signs of budging.&nbsp;&ldquo;We will not be intimidated by your threat to engage in mass firings,&rdquo; Jeffries wrote in a post on X. &ldquo;Get lost.&rdquo;&nbsp;Jeffries called Russ Vought, the head of OMB, a &ldquo;malignant political hack.&quot;&nbsp;Schumer said in a statement that the OMB memo is an &ldquo;attempt at intimidation&quot; and predicted the &ldquo;unnecessary firings will either be overturned in court, or the administration will end up hiring the workers back.&rdquo;&nbsp;OMB prepares for shutdown OMB noted that it held its first planning call with other federal agencies earlier this week to plan for a shutdown. The budget office plays point in managing federal government shutdowns, particularly planning for them ahead of time. Past budget offices have also posted shutdown contingency plans &mdash; which would outline which agency workers would stay on the job during a government shutdown and which would be furloughed &mdash; on its website, but this one has not.&nbsp;The memo noted that congressional Democrats are refusing to support a clean government funding bill &ldquo;due to their partisan demands,&rdquo; which include an extension of enhanced health insurance subsidies set to expire at the end of the year, plus a reversal of Medicaid cuts that were included in Republicans&rsquo; big tax and spending cuts law.&nbsp;&quot;As such, it has never been more important for the Administration to be prepared for a shutdown if the Democrats choose to pursue one,&quot; the memo reads, which also notes that the GOP&#39;s signature law, a major tax and border spending package, gives &ldquo;ample resources to ensure that many core Trump Administration priorities will continue uninterrupted.&rdquo;&nbsp;OMB noted that it had asked all agencies to submit their plans in case of a government shutdown by Aug. 1.&nbsp;&ldquo;OMB has received many, but not all, of your submissions,&rdquo; it added. &ldquo;Please send us your updated lapse plans ASAP.&rdquo;

Democrat leaders say they will not be "intimidated" by threats to engage in mass firings.

Articles tagged with "government shutdown 2025"

White House freezes funds for Democratic states in shutdown slap

White House orders agencies to draft mass firing plans ahead of shutdown