Washington: As the partial government shutdown continues, President Donald Trump's administration has warned that mass layoffs of federal workers could begin if negotiations with congressional Democrats remain, in the words of a senior White House official, "absolutely going nowhere."
The shutdown, which started on October 1 in the new fiscal year, follows a failed Senate attempt to pass a short-term funding bill. White House officials say they are prepared to act if no resolution is found, but still express hope for an agreement that avoids the need for layoffs.
White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett told CNN's "State of the Union" program that he still saw a chance that Democrats would back down, averting a costly shutdown and federal employee layoffs. "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 asserted.
President Trump, speaking to reporters, described the potential job losses as "Democrat layoffs," saying, "Anybody laid off, that's because of the Democrats."
Meanwhile, the Trump administration has warned that furloughed federal workers may not automatically get back pay once the government reopens — a sharp reversal from years of shutdown practice and a break from a law Trump himself signed in 2019.
