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The Trump administration is preparing to begin firing federal employees as the government shutdown enters its first full day, Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought told House Republicans on Wednesday, according to two GOP sources familiar with the call.
Vought said layoffs could begin “within one to two days” if the government remains shuttered, escalating an already tense standoff between the White House and congressional Democrats over federal spending.
The warning follows a memo Vought issued last week threatening mass terminations in the federal workforce if Congress failed to pass a funding bill by the end of the fiscal year. The memo directed agencies to consider reduction-in-force notices for employees in programs whose funding lapsed as of Oct. 1 and that are “not consistent with the President’s priorities.”
Vought did not specify how many federal workers could be affected, but told Republicans the layoffs were necessary to preserve essential services. “This would not be happening if Democrats had done their jobs,” he said, according to one GOP lawmaker on the call.
Moments later, in the White House briefing room, Vice President JD Vance confirmed that layoffs were imminent unless Congress moved quickly to reopen the government.
“We are going to have to lay some people off if the shutdown continues,” Vance told reporters. “We don’t like that. We don’t necessarily want to do it. But we’re going to do what we have to keep the American people’s essential services continuing to run.”
Vance rejected speculation that the administration would target employees or agencies based on politics. “We’re not targeting federal agencies based on politics,” he said. “We’re targeting the people’s government so that as much as possible of the essential services can continue to function.”
During the afternoon call, Vought also warned that the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) nutrition program could run out of funding as soon as next week. The National WIC Association confirmed that estimate to NBC News, saying funds could be exhausted within one to two weeks if the shutdown persists.
The call also touched on the suspension of military pay and salaries for other federal workers, which are frozen during the shutdown, and the status of national parks, which Vought said would remain partially open.
The conversation came shortly after the Senate failed for the second time in 24 hours to advance competing Democratic and Republican proposals to fund the government. With a 53-47 GOP majority, at least 60 votes are required to overcome a filibuster — ensuring that any bill to reopen the government must be bipartisan.
Federal funding expired at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday after lawmakers missed the deadline to pass a stopgap continuing resolution to keep government operations running. The stalemate has now forced hundreds of thousands of federal employees into furlough status and raised concerns about disruptions to nutrition assistance, air travel, and military operations.
