Trump sharpens ax on government shutdown day two — with ‘thousands’ of federal firings planned 

WASHINGTON — President Trump huddled Thursday with White House budget director Russ Vought to plan for “thousands” of potentially permanent cuts to the federal workforce on the second day of the partial government shutdown.

The terminations, expected to be announced as early as Friday, would hit hardest at “Democrat Agencies,” Trump warned, in reference to ongoing administration efforts to downsize entities such as the Education Department and Environmental Protection Agency.

“I have a meeting today with Russ Vought, he of PROJECT 2025 Fame, to determine which of the many Democrat Agencies, most of which are a political SCAM, he recommends to be cut, and whether or not those cuts will be temporary or permanent,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“I can’t believe the Radical Left Democrats gave me this unprecedented opportunity. They are not stupid people, so maybe this is their way of wanting to, quietly and quickly, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that the number of job losses was “likely going to be in the thousands” — on top of the dismissal of nearly 300,000 federal workers and contractors earlier this year under the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency initiative.

Vought requested Reduction in Force (RIF) plans last week from agencies across the roughly 3 million-strong federal civilian workforce, setting the stage for deep cuts as Democrats balked at a temporary spending bill that would have averted a shutdown.

About 750,000 federal employees are furloughed during the shutdown, according to the Congressional Budget Office, though the precise number varies each day.

Heavily impacted agencies include the Food and Drug Administration, which planned to temporarily dismiss 40% of its 80,000-person workforce, and the Education Department, which planned to furlough 95% of employees not tasked with administering student aid.

Leavitt said Thursday Trump and Vought intend to “look at agencies that don’t align with the administration’s values” for the deepest cuts.

The country entered its first multi-day shutdown since January 2019 due to Democratic demands for the continuation of more generous pandemic-era subsidies for about 22 million people who purchased health insurance through Obamacare exchanges.

Republicans note those benefits don’t expire until Dec. 31 — providing ample time for negotiations — and oppose items in a Democratic counter-proposal that would restore National Public Radio funding and hospital reimbursements for care of illegal immigrants. The Democratic plan would cost an additional $1.5 trillion over 10 years and has been voted down by the Senate along party lines twice.

There’s been little progress between the two sides, with Republican leaders hoping for more defections from Democratic senators.

The shutdown started Wednesday when a majority of Senate Democrats used the 60-vote filibuster in the upper chamber to block a House-passed bill to continue federal spending at current levels through Nov. 21. The vote failed, with 55 senators in favor and 45 opposed.

Three Democrats  — Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Sen. Angus King of Maine, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats— voted to advance the temporary spending bill. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky was the lone Republican opposed.

A post-shutdown vote on Wednesday produced the same 55-45 split and there were no votes Thursday in recognition of Yom Kippur, the holiest day in Judaism. 

Another vote to advance the seven-week stopgap bill is expected to fail on Friday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) told reporters Thursday. 

Thune added that it was “unlikely” there would be weekend votes — meaning that the shutdown would stretch into at least next week barring unexpected developments.

“They’ll have a fourth chance tomorrow to open up the government. If that fails, we’ll give them the weekend to think about it. We’ll come back, vote again Monday,” Thune said.

The White House has warned of potential disruptions to major programs, including the WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) program, which provides financial assistance to low-income mothers with young children to improve nutrition.

The WIC program has enough funding to run for about a week or two before benefits begin to run dry for recipients, Ali Hard, director of public policy for the National WIC Association, told ABC News.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has sought to increase the pressure on Democrats while calling for more centrists to defect.

Vought on Wednesday paused $18 billion in Transportation Department funds for New York’s Gateway Tunnel project and Second Avenue subway extension — ostensibly to review Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) policies among grant beneficiaries — in a move meant to undercut Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who both hail from Brooklyn.

Hours later, the budget chief announced the Energy Department’s clawback of $8 billion in green-energy spending in 16 states including California and New York, all of which backed then-Vice President Kamala Harris in last year’s election.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who met with Trump at the White House Thursday afternoon, insisted the Vought “takes no pleasure in this.”

“Russ does this reluctantly,” Johnson claimed. “He is not enjoying that responsibility.”

The most recent shutdown lasted 35 days in late 2018 and early 2019 as congressional Democrats refused Trump’s demand to fund a US-Mexico border wall. Trump ultimately directed military funds to the project, ending the impasse.