Vice President J.D. Vance said Sunday that the longer it goes on, the more likely there will be significant cuts to the federal workforce. government shutdown It adds to the uncertainty facing hundreds of thousands of people who have already been furloughed without pay amid a stubborn deadlock in Congress.
Vance said the Trump administration’s policies now enter the 12th day of the federal government shutdown, but warned that new cuts would be “painful.” worked to ensure Soldiers will get paid this week and some services will be preserved for low-income Americans. include Meal assistance.
Still, hundreds of thousands of government workers have been furloughed in recent days. Submission to court The Office of Management and Budget announced Friday that well over 4,000 federal employees will soon be laid off due to the shutdown.
“The longer this goes on, the wider the reductions will be,” Vance said on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.” “Let me be clear: some of these cuts are going to be painful. This is not a situation that we’re happy about. This is not something we’re looking forward to, but the Democrats have given us a pretty tough card.”
Unions have already filed lawsuits to block the president’s aggressive moves donald trump In the Bureau of Accounts, the situation is far beyond normal. government shutdownfurther fueling tensions between Republicans who control Congress and the Democratic minority.
The shutdown began Oct. 1 after Democrats rejected short-term funding fixes and demanded that the bill include an extension of federal subsidies for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. When these subsidies expire at the end of the year, millions of people will face increased monthly costs.
President Trump and Republican leaders say they are open to negotiations on health care subsidies, but say the government needs to be reopened first.
For now, negotiations are virtually non-existent. House leaders from both parties remained furious and criticized each other during an appearance on “Fox News Sunday” on Sunday.
“We have made it clear repeatedly that we will talk to anyone, anytime, anywhere,” said House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York. “Republicans control the House, the Senate, and the Presidency. It’s unfortunate that they took a get-my-way approach.”
speaker of the house mike johnson He criticized Democrats, saying they “don’t seem to care” about the pain the government shutdown will cause.
“They are doing everything in their power to distract the American people from the simple fact that they have chosen a partisan fight to prove to the rising Marxist base within the Democratic Party that they are ready to fight Trump and the Republican Party.”
Meanwhile, progressive activists expressed renewed support for the Democratic Party’s position in the shutdown fight.
Ezra Levin“I’m pleased with the strength of the Democratic Party’s position,” said the co-founder of Indivisible, a major progressive protest group. He pointed to the fissures in the Republican Party, noting that the Georgia congressman said: marjorie taylor green Last week, she publicly warned that if nothing is done, health insurance premiums for average Americans, including her own adult children, will skyrocket.
“Trump and the Republican Party are rightly responsible for the government shutdown and impending insurance premium hikes,” Levin said. “Their chickens are coming home to roost.”
But the Republican administration and its allies in Congress show no signs of bowing to Democratic demands or backing down from threatening to use the opportunity to pursue further cuts to the federal workforce.
Thousands of employees in the Departments of Education, Treasury, Homeland Security, Health and Human Services and the Environmental Protection Agency are expected to receive layoff notices, according to agency spokespeople and federal employee union representatives.
“You’ve heard many Senate Democrats say how could Donald Trump fire all federal employees,” Vance said. “Well, the Democrats gave us a choice between giving food stamps to low-income women, paying salaries to the military on the one hand, and paying salaries to federal bureaucrats on the other.”
Democrats say the firings are illegal and unnecessary.
“They don’t have to do that,” Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “There is no need to punish people who should not be in this position.”
