Trump threatens to cut ‘Democratic agencies’ amid government shutdown

United States President Donald Trump has seized connected the government shutdown arsenic an accidental to reshape the national workforce and punish detractors, posting connected societal media his intent to chopped what helium described arsenic “Democrat agencies”.

On Thursday, Trump utilized his station connected Truth Social to denote helium would conscionable with fund manager Russ Vought to speech done “temporary oregon permanent” spending cuts that could acceptable up a lose-lose dynamic for Democratic lawmakers.

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He wrote that he and Vought would find “which of the galore Democrat Agencies” would beryllium chopped — continuing their efforts to slash national spending by threatening wide firings of workers and suggesting “irreversible” cuts to Democratic priorities.

“I can’t judge the Radical Left Democrats gave maine this unprecedented opportunity,” Trump said. “They are not anserine people, truthful possibly this is their mode of wanting to, softly and quickly, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

The station was notable successful its explicit clasp of Project 2025, a arguable argumentation blueprint drafted by the blimpish Heritage Foundation that Trump distanced himself from during his 2024 re-election campaign.

The effort aimed to reshape the national authorities astir right-wing policies, and Democrats repeatedly pointed to its goals to pass of the consequences of a 2nd Trump administration.

Vought connected Wednesday offered an opening salvo of the unit helium hoped to enactment connected Democrats. He announced helium was withholding $18bn for the Hudson River obstruction passageway and Second Avenue subway enactment successful New York City, which person been championed by Senate Democratic person Chuck Schumer and his House counterpart Hakeem Jeffries, successful their location state.

Vought is besides cancelling $8bn successful greenish vigor projects successful states with Democratic senators.

Meanwhile, the White House is preparing for wide firings of national workers, alternatively than simply furloughing it arsenic is the accustomed signifier during a shutdown. White House property caput Karoline Leavitt said earlier this week that layoffs were “imminent”.

“If they don’t privation further harm connected their constituents backmost home, past they request to reopen the government,” Leavitt said connected Thursday of Democrats.

Trump’s announcement connected his Truth Social website came with the authorities entering the 2nd time of a stoppage that is expected to spot 750,000 employees being sent location without wage crossed a wide scope of agencies.

Leavitt told reporters connected Thursday the occupation cuts were apt going to fig “in the thousands”.

Schumer and Jeffries, meanwhile, person dismissed the occupation cuts menace arsenic an effort astatine intimidation and said the wide firings would not basal up successful court.

“These are each things that the Trump medication has been doing since January 20th,” said Jeffries, referring to the president’s archetypal time successful office. “The cruelty is the point.”

The Senate is not voting connected Thursday due to the fact that of the Jewish Yom Kippur holiday, but different ballot is expected connected Friday and connected astir days until the standoff is resolved.

Five further Democratic votes would beryllium needed to scope the 60-vote threshold successful the 100-member Senate to greenlight a measure the House passed successful September.

With Democrats expected to block the Republican reopening program again, Republicans were reportedly mulling sending their senators location aft the ballot — efficaciously guaranteeing the shutdown drags into adjacent week.

But House Speaker Mike Johnson, whose members person been disconnected each week, told reporters that Senate leaders request to instrumentality to an archetypal program to enactment done the play successful Washington.

“And the House is coming backmost adjacent week, hoping that they volition beryllium sending america thing to enactment on, that we tin get backmost to enactment and bash the people’s business,” Johnson told a quality league astatine the US Capitol.

He blamed Democrats and said “they person efficaciously turned disconnected the legislative branch” and “handed it implicit to the president”.

For now, Democrats are holding accelerated to their demands to sphere healthcare backing and refusing to backmost a measure that fails to bash so, informing of terms spikes for millions of Americans nationwide.

With nary casual endgame astatine hand, the standoff risks dragging deeper into October, erstwhile national workers who stay connected the occupation volition statesman missing paycheques. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has estimated astir 750,000 national workers would beryllium furloughed connected immoderate fixed time during the shutdown, a nonaccomplishment of $400m regular successful wages.

The economical effects could spill implicit into the broader economy. Past shutdowns saw “reduced aggregate request successful the backstage assemblage for goods and services, pushing down GDP”, the CBO said.

“Stalled national spending connected goods and services led to a nonaccomplishment of private-sector income that further reduced request for different goods and services successful the economy,” it said.

Overall CBO said determination was a “dampening of economical output”, but that reversed erstwhile radical returned to work.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent besides told CNBC connected Thursday that the shutdown could wounded US economical growth.

“This isn’t the mode to person a discussion, shutting down the authorities and lowering the GDP,” helium said.