Kevin Hassett, director of the White House Economic Council, warned on Sunday that mass federal layoffs could begin as early as Monday if Democrats do not agree to reopen the government. Speaking on CNN’s State of the Union, Hassett said President Donald Trump and budget director Russell Vought are preparing to act if negotiations stall.
“I think that President Trump and Russ Vought are lining things up and getting ready to act if they have to, but hoping that they don’t,” Hassett told CNN’s Jake Tapper. He added that layoffs would begin “if the president decides that the negotiations are absolutely going nowhere.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson, appearing on CBS and NBC, blamed Democrats for the potential layoffs, despite Republicans controlling both chambers of Congress and the White House. Johnson denied using the threat of mass firings as leverage, instead pointing to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for opposing a House-passed continuing resolution to fund the government.
Democrats have dismissed the threats, accusing Trump of targeting “Democrat agencies” for political gain. Senator Adam Schiff told MSNBC that Trump and Vought “want to cause even more pain for the American people.” Schumer, meanwhile, accused Johnson of being dishonest about negotiations over Affordable Care Act subsidies, saying “later means never.”
Republicans are reportedly divided over the strategy. Senator Kevin Cramer warned that it risks squandering political capital, calling the current position “the most moral high ground Republicans have had in a moment like this.” Trump himself attacked Fox News for inviting Democratic Senator Mark Kelly to discuss the shutdown, suggesting the network should “get on board or get off.”
