President Donald Trump said his administration may cut “vast numbers” of federal workers and programs that Democrats “like” if they don’t agree to Republican terms to avert a government shutdown.
“What does it say about the state of the Democrat Party when they have a 33% favorability rating, on average, in recent months, and they’re willing to shut down the government over health care programs?” a member of the White House press pool asked the president at the Oval Office on Tuesday after an unrelated event.
“They are shutting it down. We’re not shutting it down. We don’t want it to shut down, because we have the greatest period of time ever,” the president responded. “I told you, we have $17 trillion being invested. So, the last person that wants it shut down is us.”
“With that being said, we can do things during the shutdown that are irreversible,” Trump continued. “Like cutting vast numbers of people out, cutting things that they like, cutting programs that they like.”
“You all know Russell Vought,” he added. “He’s become very popular recently because he can trim the budget to a level that you couldn’t do any other way.”
Led by OMB Director Vought, the White House budget office has instructed federal agencies to prepare for mass layoffs when the government shuts down at midnight Wednesday.
