The White House has directed federal agencies to prepare for mass firings in the event of a government shutdown, dramatically escalating the partisan standoff over funding as a critical deadline approaches.
The directive from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) offers a rare look into the Trump administration’s secretive shutdown preparations, which deviate from the bipartisan precedent of publicly available contingency plans. Those documents were removed from public view earlier this year without explanation, leaving many agency officials scrambling to comply with the new orders.
This threat is a key part of the White House strategy to pressure Democrats, signaling President Donald Trump’s intent to use a shutdown to advance his long-standing priority of reducing the federal workforce. For OMB Director Russ Vought and his allies, the funding impasse presents an opportunity to implement politically unpopular cuts while blaming Democrats for the consequences.
The move has hardened the resolve of Democratic leaders, who have vowed to hold firm on their demands and dismissed the memo as a scare tactic. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said his party would not be intimidated, while others argued that voters, including any fired federal workers, would blame the administration, not them, for the layoffs. The threat is a particular concern for lawmakers in states like Maryland and Virginia with large numbers of federal employees, though it has not yet forced Democrats to alter their position.
Republicans on Capitol Hill are divided. Senator Bernie Moreno of Ohio warned that a prolonged shutdown could lead to “permanent cuts” and placed the blame on Democrats for not accepting a House-passed funding package. However, other Republicans expressed unease. Senator Susan Collins of Maine, a key appropriator, cautioned that federal employees “should not be treated as pawns.” GOP strategists worry the administration’s rhetoric could backfire, squandering any political advantage and directly harming voters.
President Trump has deflected questions about the mass firing plans, instead focusing his criticism on Democrats over immigration and Affordable Care Act subsidies.
The current directive builds on previous efforts by the Trump administration to reshape the federal workforce through executive orders and regulatory changes. A February memo from Vought used similar language, directing agencies to plan for “the maximum elimination of functions that are not statutorily mandated.” That guidance explicitly called on agencies to use shutdown contingency plans from Trump’s first term to guide these reductions.
Legal experts note that while large-scale firings could be initiated at any time, tying them to the shutdown serves as powerful rhetorical positioning. Jack Goldsmith, a Harvard law professor and former Justice Department official, observed that an administration keen on downsizing has an “asymmetric weapon” in a government shutdown standoff.
Meanwhile, practical questions remain, including the status of essential employees. Workers at the TSA and air traffic controllers are expected to continue working but would not receive pay until the shutdown ends.
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