House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said Democrats will not be forced into a deal to fund the government, despite potential mass layoffs of federal employees in the event of a shutdown. White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought has instructed senior government officials to lay off workers in departments without funding and that don’t align with President Trump’s priorities.
Democrats hold position despite layoff threats
“We will not be intimidated by Russ Vought, who’s completely and totally out of control,” Jeffries told reporters Thursday. “As a negotiating tactic, our response to Russ Vought is simple: Get lost.”
Jeffries and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said the Office of Management and Budget has been “illegally” firing federal workers throughout the year and that in many cases they’ve been forced to hire workers back, either because they lost a court case or needed the manpower.
“Donald Trump has been firing federal workers since day one—not to govern, but to scare,” Schumer said in a statement. “These unnecessary firings will either be overturned in court or the administration will end up hiring the workers back, just like they did as recently as this week.”
Incoming reduction-in-force notices
The Office of Management and Budget sent a memo to federal departments and agencies on Wednesday, instructing them to be prepared not only to send furlough notices but also “RIF” notices, meaning reduction-in-force notices.
Unbiased. Straight Facts.TM
The federal government has shut down 20 times since 1977. Shutdowns occur when Congress fails to approve a budget.
Unions: Employees should be ‘political pawns’
Unions representing federal employees are urging Congress to reach a deal so that their members aren’t the victims of a political fight.
“This is politics at its worst, using the federal budget as a game of chicken with federal employees as the collateral damage,” National Treasury Employees Union President Doreen Greenwald said in a statement. “This needs to stop. We must expect more from the government and stand with federal employees so they can continue to provide the services we rely on and are not used as political pawns.”
The NTEU represents workers in 38 departments and agencies, including the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce and Homeland Security.
It is one of many unions urging a deal. They collectively represent approximately one million federal employees.
“The truth is simple: Republicans cannot fund the government without Democratic votes. That means the only path forward is compromise,” American Federation of Government Employees National President Everett Kelley said in a statement. “Federal employees are not bargaining chips.”
Republicans aren’t changing their position
Democrats want to undo the Medicaid cuts Republicans approved in July. If they were reversed entirely, that would undo a provision from the “One Big Beautiful Bill” which penalizes states that offer health coverage to immigrants, including those in the country unlawfully.
Republicans are trying to keep that center frame.
“This is all caused by the Democrats. They asked us to do something that’s totally unreasonable. They never change. They want to give money away to illegals illegally, people that entered our country illegally,” President Donald Trump said in the Oval Office.
Republicans say they won’t change their position – Congress should approve a seven-week continuing resolution, which would give Congress time to negotiate a package for all of fiscal year 2026.
Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins, R-Maine, is urging Democrats to provide the final seven votes needed to pass the continuing resolution. But she is also speaking out against the possibility of using a shutdown to lay off federal employees.
“Federal employees dedicate themselves to serving the public, and they should not be treated as pawns amid a needlessly partisan impasse,” Collins said in a statement to Punchbowl News.
The government is set to shut down Oct. 1 at midnight.
The post Democrats still oppose government funding deal despite mass firings threat appeared first on Straight Arrow News.