Americans are spooked, but here’s what you need to know.
The Trump White House delivered a blunt message on Thursday: mass federal layoffs are coming as Democrats refuse to fund the government.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that “thousands” of government employees will likely lose their jobs in the coming weeks.
“This would not be happening if Democrats had voted to keep the government open,” Leavitt told reporters.
Trump Targets Wasteful “Democrat Agencies”
President Trump will meet with Budget Director Russell Vought to review which agencies should face cuts. Trump said many of them are nothing more than “Democrat Agencies” — political scams wasting taxpayer dollars.
Leavitt explained the president’s approach:
“We’re going to look at agencies that don’t align with the administration’s values and that waste taxpayer dollars.”
She added that Democrats are solely to blame for the looming layoffs:
“The president is determined to protect taxpayers during this shutdown crisis, and Democrats are the ones who chose to bring government to a halt.”
Permanent Cuts on the Table
Trump made it clear that he’s ready to make deep and lasting changes to Washington’s bureaucracy.
In an interview with One America News, he warned:
“We could cut projects they wanted — projects that never should have been approved in the first place. And I will probably do that.”
This means some Democrat pet projects could disappear forever.
First Round of Cuts Already Announced
OMB Director Russell Vought has already begun trimming billions. His office confirmed Wednesday that transportation projects in New York City and green-energy programs in 16 Democrat-led states are being defunded immediately.
This is just the beginning. More cuts are expected as the Trump administration takes advantage of what the president called an “unprecedented opportunity” to rein in wasteful spending.