PNN – After the U.S. government shutdown due to a failure to reach a budget agreement, Donald Trump threatened to extend the federal workforce purge.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network, with the start of the new fiscal year and the government shutdown caused by the budget deadlock, Trump warned of continuing the federal workforce reductions.
The U.S. government officially shut down today for the first time in about seven years, after Congress and the White House failed to agree on how to extend federal funding.
The White House Office of Management and Budget instructed federal agencies to begin implementing shutdown plans.
This is the first government shutdown since 2018, during Trump’s first term, which lasted 34 days—the longest in U.S. history—continuing into early 2019.
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During the shutdown, federal employees will not receive pay, while members of Congress and Trump himself continue to be paid.
The Congressional Budget Office also reported that around 750,000 employees will be furloughed without pay each day, while essential workers, such as Transportation Security Administration officers, air traffic controllers, federal law enforcement officers, and military personnel, will be required to work without pay.
The office stated that compensating furloughed employees would cost taxpayers approximately $400 million.
According to the report, this government shutdown is different from previous ones because the administration has threatened widespread federal employee layoffs and may use the funding gap to downsize the government.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump intensified the crisis, threatening to cut the budgets of key agencies favored by Democrats and eliminate programs relied upon by his opponents.
Speaking to reporters, he said, “We are going to fire more people. They will be Democrats.”
The U.S. Congress had passed a temporary bill to prevent the shutdown of various government departments until September 30 and to fund agencies until November 21, but the Senate rejected this temporary funding measure.
The bill aimed to keep federal agencies operating at current funding levels until November 21. It faced strong opposition from Democrats, who demanded increased funding for healthcare subsidies under the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”) and the restoration of Medicaid funding for low-income individuals. Republicans, meanwhile, insisted that government and healthcare budgets be treated as separate issues.
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Yesterday, JD Vance, Trump’s deputy, also blamed the Democrats and expressed hope that they would change their position.
Both Democrats and Republicans have tried to blame each other for the potential government shutdown due to the budget impasse, a situation that has led to the closure of some federal services and furloughs of certain federal employees.
A few days ago, Republican congressional leaders asked Democrats to agree to a short-term bill to buy more time and prevent the shutdown, but this request was rejected, ultimately resulting in the government closure.
Over the past 15 years, budget negotiations in the U.S. have often ended inconclusively, usually being resolved at the last minute. However, Trump’s willingness to ignore laws passed by Congress has introduced a new level of uncertainty.
Currently, there is no clear timeline for how long the government will remain shut down. Senator John Thune, Senate Republican leader, announced that the Senate will vote again on Wednesday on the temporary funding bill passed by Congress.