Federal employees can expect layoffs by the end of the week, according to senior Trump administration officials.

In a private call Wednesday with members of the GOP, Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought announced that “consequential” layoffs will begin in “a day or two,” reported NOTUS’s Reese Gorman.

That timeline was confirmed by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who informed journalists later Wednesday that layoffs were “imminent.”

“They are, unfortunately, a consequence of this government shutdown,” she said.

She did not elaborate on the scope of the layoffs, which agencies would be targeted, or what percentage of the workforce was at risk of losing their jobs. But one demographic is in danger of getting axed: Democrats, according to Donald Trump.

Hours before the government shutdown over a bipartisan disagreement on funding Trump’s agenda, the president warned that it would be Democrats who would face the consequences for the congressional failure—even though it is Republicans who currently control every branch of the federal government.

“The Democrats want to shut it down,” Trump commented during a news conference at the White House Tuesday afternoon. “So, when you shut it down, you have to do layoffs. So, we’d be laying off a lot of people that are going to be very affected. And the Democrats, they are going to be Democrats.”

Vice President JD Vance brushed off Trump’s threats when he joined the press conference Wednesday, suggesting that the president should not be taken at his word.

“Has the administration asked agencies to target federal workers whom they believe to be Democrats in these reduction in workforce—” asked a reporter.

“We’re not targeting federal agencies based on politics,” Vance insisted in a sprawling answer that continued to point blame at Democratic leadership.

“We’re targeting the people’s government so that as much as possible of the essential services can continue to function,” he continued. “That is the question the president has asked the entire government is—fundamentally—okay we’re going to shut down. That causes some problems: The troops aren’t getting paid, there’s nothing we can do about that while the government is shut down, but there are some essential services that we want to make sure—as much as possible—they still continue to function. That is the principle that is driving us forward during this shutdown.”

“He said, ‘They are going to be Democrats,’” a reporter reiterated.

The divisive and partisan language espoused thus far by the Trump administration during this shutdown not only defies longstanding presidential tradition, but is also in violation of the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch, according to ethics experts. It could also be in potential violation of the Hatch Act, which is designed to limit partisan messaging from federal employees.

President Donald Trump intends to shield his sweeping immigration enforcement operations from the effects of the government shutdown, as well as other key facets of his policy agenda, Politico reported Wednesday.

Through a series of interviews with former and current White House officials and analysis of agency documents, Politico learned what programs and offices Trump plans to keep intact—and spoiler alert, they’re not the essential government programs that Americans rely on. 

The Department of Homeland Security expanded the number of employees it is permitted to retain during a shutdown by 2,300, and has plans to keep 95 percent of its total employees in the office during the shutdown. Two years ago, it was only allowed to keep 88 percent. 

Immigration and Customs Enforcement, charged with carrying out Trump’s sweeping raids for undocumented immigrants and extrajudicial deportations, will continue to operate without interruption, two administration officials told Politico. 

“ICE will be fine during a shutdown,” one of the administration officials told Politico. “Most of what ICE does will continue.” Border Control would also remain mostly operational. 

In previous shutdowns, the Commerce Department and U.S. Trade Representative’s office were deemed non-essential—but this time, both have announced their intention to continue working on Trump’s economic policy agenda. 

Commerce has indicated that it will continue to allow import licensing for steel and aluminum, which was not a protected activity under the agency’s 2023 shutdown plan. The USTR will keep administration tariff programs running using 60 percent of its workforce, compared to the 40 percent it would have retained under its 2024 plan. 

NASA’s Artemis moonshot program will also continue to receive funding, as will the Department of the Interior’s processing of applications for drilling permits.  

Meanwhile, Trump intends to target Democrats—and punish Americans—by stripping federal programs that actually help people.

That means hundreds of thousands of federal workers will be sent home from the Social Security Administration, the Health and Human Services Department, the Department of Education, and other federal agencies. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has suspended operations, and the Federal Drug Administration has halted its long-term food safety initiatives and pre-market safety reviews of novel animal food ingredients. 

Additionally, if you are one of the estimated 200,000 Americans who filed for an extension on filing your tax returns, the deadline is still October 15—but if you have any questions about that, you may struggle to get a hold of an actual IRS employee in their office. 

On the first day of the government shutdown, Vice President JD Vance tried to claim that it’s all the fault of Democrats for wanting to give free health care to undocumented immigrants. 

“This is a Democrat talking point. They say we’re not actually trying to give health care benefits to illegal aliens. And here’s why it’s not true,” Vance said on Fox News on Wednesday. “There are two Biden-era programs that explicitly gave the taxpayer health care money to illegal aliens that we turned off when President Trump took over in January.… The Democrats want to turn it back on. And in their initial proposal, the first thing that they put out to reopen the government, they actually turned that money for health care benefits for illegal aliens back on. So it’s not something........

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