The White House escalated tensions in the looming US government shutdown battle on Thursday, directing federal agencies to prepare for large-scale staff cuts under President Donald Trump’s administration.
In a memo obtained by AFP, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) warned that the Republican administration would move beyond the standard practice of temporary furloughs used during previous shutdowns.
Trump is locked in a standoff with congressional Democrats over federal spending ahead of a 30 September fiscal deadline. A failure to reach an agreement by midnight would trigger a fresh political crisis in Washington.
The OMB memo instructed agencies to “use this opportunity to consider Reduction in Force (RIF) notices for all employees” in departments most affected by a shutdown. It also ordered them to prepare staff reduction plans and notify employees accordingly.
The term “reduction in force” echoes language used earlier this year during the Trump administration’s sweeping job cuts carried out by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), headed by billionaire Elon Musk.
The White House blamed Democrats’ “series of insane demands” for the deadlock and accused them of breaking a decade-long tradition of bipartisan agreements to avoid shutdowns.
“We remain hopeful that Democrats in Congress will not trigger a shutdown and the steps outlined above will not be necessary,” the memo added.
‘Get lost’
Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries responded defiantly, telling the White House to “get lost.”
“We will not be intimidated by your threat to engage in mass firings,” Jeffries wrote on X, describing OMB chief Russ Vought as a “malignant political hack.”
A shutdown would force non-essential government operations to halt and leave hundreds of thousands of civil servants without pay. Shutdown showdowns have become a recurring feature of US politics under both Republican and Democratic administrations, as partisan gridlock continues to deepen.
Senate Democrats rejected a stopgap funding bill last week that the Republican-led House of Representatives had hurriedly passed in an effort to avert a shutdown.
Trump subsequently cancelled a meeting with Democratic congressional leaders on Tuesday, declaring he would not engage with them until they “become realistic” about their demands.
With both chambers of Congress currently in recess and senators not due to return until Monday, lawmakers face a shrinking window to keep the government funded beyond the fiscal year’s end.
Although Republicans control both chambers by narrow margins, Senate rules mean they still require some Democratic support.
House Republicans warned on Friday that they would not reconvene before the funding deadline, leaving the Senate with the choice of accepting their proposal or facing a shutdown.
Even if passed, the bill would only provide temporary funding until 21 November.
The last government shutdown occurred in March, when Republicans refused to negotiate with Democrats over Trump’s sweeping budget cuts and the dismissal of thousands of federal workers.