The layoffs of government employees following the shutdown of the federal government have already begun in the US, President Donald Trump confirmed during a meeting with reporters.
“It's already happening“, Trump said in response to a question about when the layoffs of government employees would begin. The American president, quoted by reporters from the White House press pool, added that the shutdown was provoked by the position of his political opponents in the Democratic Party. “It's their shutdown, not ours“, he said.
White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt announced on October 2 that the Trump administration would lay off thousands of government employees amid the shutdown. Earlier, as Politico reported, White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vote informed House Republicans that the administration plans to begin massive layoffs and reductions in federal agencies in the next few days due to the government shutdown. Vice President J.D. Vance, in turn, confirmed that the White House intends to use the government shutdown to further reduce the size of the US government.
The US federal government partially shut down at midnight on October 1 due to a lack of funding after the ruling Republican and opposition Democratic parties in Congress failed to agree on a number of spending items, including health care. They accuse each other of provoking the government shutdown and prolonging it for political purposes.