Washington, Oct. 2 — President Donald Trump escalated his use of the federal government shutdown as political leverage on Thursday, describing the standoff as an “unprecedented opportunity” to slash agencies he derided as “Democrat-run.”
Trump said he would meet with budget director Russell Vought, a former architect of the conservative Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, to identify agencies for possible elimination. The White House confirmed that job cuts “likely in the thousands” were under consideration, while funding freezes have already hit transit, clean energy, and other projects in Democratic-leaning states.
Roughly two million federal workers have had pay suspended, with 750,000 furloughed and others ordered to work without pay. Union lawsuits challenging the layoffs have so far failed to halt them. A prolonged shutdown could disrupt air travel, food assistance, mortgage lending, and federal court operations, while parks and social services have already scaled back.
Democrats have insisted that any funding bill include health care provisions, including the extension of expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies. Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress, have refused to link health measures to broader government funding. With Senate Democrats holding enough votes to block the GOP plan, the impasse is expected to stretch at least until lawmakers reconvene on Friday.
Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, accused Trump of using federal workers as “pawns.” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) defended the president’s approach, arguing that it falls within executive authority when Congress fails to appropriate funds.
The closure, the 15th since 1981, has frozen roughly $1.7 trillion in government spending. While past shutdowns have had limited long-term economic effects, analysts warn that the scale of Trump’s proposed agency cuts — rooted in Project 2025’s blueprint to shrink the federal bureaucracy — could make this standoff more consequential.
