White House says layoffs are 'imminent' during government shutdown
The White House has threatened mass layoffs in the event of a government shutdown, but the details remain unclear.
The White House has threatened mass layoffs in the event of a government shutdown, but the details remain unclear.
The White House has threatened mass layoffs in the event of a government shutdown, but the details remain unclear.
The White House is warning of mass layoffs during the ongoing government shutdown, but one day after funding for federal agencies lapsed, some key details remained unclear.
During a press briefing on Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt declined to give a specific timeline for when layoffs would start.
"Two days, imminent, very soon," Leavitt said. "It's not unclear. All of those things are very synonymous with one another."
Leavitt declined to provide a percentage of the workforce that could be fired.
Vice President J.D. Vance, who also took part in Wednesday's briefing, said the administration "hasn't made any final decisions about what we're going to do with certain workers.
"Let's be honest, if this thing drags on for another few days or, God forbid, another few weeks, we're going to have to lay people off," Vance furthered. "We're going to have to save money in some places so the essential services don't get turned off in other places."
Vance also insisted that the administration is "not targeting federal agencies based on politics."
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump seemed to suggest that his administration would target Democrats working in the federal government.
"Well, the Democrats want to shut it down, so when you shut it down, you have to do layoffs, so we'd be laying off a lot of people who are going to be very affected, and they're Democrats. They're gonna be Democrats," Trump said.
A group of labor unions is already suing the Trump administration over the threat.
“Announcing plans to fire potentially tens of thousands of federal employees simply because Congress and the administration are at odds on funding the government past the end of the fiscal year is not only illegal – it’s immoral and unconscionable,” said Everett Kelley, the national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, in a news release.
During a typical shutdown, essential employees continue working without pay, and others are furloughed, meaning they stop work temporarily. Mass firings are not part of normal shutdown procedures, but they would be consistent with the Trump administration's months-long effort to downsize the federal workforce.
Watch more coverage on the government shutdown below:
