Trump administration threatens mass firings as shutdown looms

WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump's administration dramatically raised the stakes Thursday in a clash over a possible government funding shutdown, telling federal agencies to prepare for new mass firings if it goes ahead.

The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) warned in a memo that it would go beyond the usual practice of temporary furloughs during previous shutdowns, where Congress cannot agree on spending plans.

Republican Trump is in a tense showdown with congressional Democrats over federal funding ahead of a fiscal deadline of midnight on 30 September, which would trigger a fresh political crisis in Washington.

Democrats have rejected Republican proposals, unless some of the spending cuts are reversed and existing health care subsidies are extended.

Trump blamed Democrats for the looming shutdown when asked about the plans to lay off federal workers.

"Well, this is all caused by the Democrats. They asked us to do something that's totally unreasonable," Trump told reporters as he hosted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Oval Office.

Trump sought to wrestle the issue back to his core electoral message of a crackdown on migration, saying of the Democrats: "They want to give money away to illegals, people that entered our country illegally."

Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries earlier responded to threat of layoffs by telling the White House to "get lost."

Calling OMB chief Russ Vought a "malignant political hack," Jeffries added on X: "We will not be intimidated by your threat to engage in mass firings."

A shutdown would see non-essential operations grind to a halt and hundreds of thousands of civil servants temporarily left without pay.

'INSANE DEMANDS'

But the White House memo, obtained by AFP, also said that that layoffs are on the cards.

It said "agencies are directed to use this opportunity to consider Reduction in Force (RIF) notices for all employees" in areas of government bearing the brunt of a shutdown.

The term "reduction in force" is the same that the Trump administration used during its large-scale firings under ycoon Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) earlier this year.

The White House also ordered agencies to submit their proposed staff reduction plans and inform employees.

The memo blamed "insane demands" by Democrats and accused them of breaking what it called a 10-year trend of reaching bipartisan agreement to avoid shutdowns at the same time of year.

Shutdown battles have become a regular feature of US politics under both Republican and Democratic administrations in an increasingly paralyzed and polarized Washington.

Senate Democrats rejected a stopgap funding bill last week that was hurriedly passed by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives as it sought to avert a shutdown.

Trump in turn cancelled a meeting on Tuesday with Democratic leaders in Congress, saying he would not meet with them until they "become realistic" with their demands.

With both chambers on recess this week and senators not returning until Monday, the day before the deadline, time is running out to keep the US government funded after the end of the fiscal year.

Republicans hold a narrow majority in both chambers of Congress but, due to Senate rules, have to get some opposition support.

House Republicans warned on Friday that their members will not return before the funding deadline, forcing the Senate to vote again and accept their proposal or face a shutdown.

The bill, if passed, would still only be a temporary fix funding federal agencies through 21 November.

Congress last faced a shutdown in March, when Republicans refused talks with Democrats over Trump's massive budget cuts and the layoff of thousands of federal employees.