Amid delays and uncertainty over the approval of the “budget” in the United States, the White House warned on Wednesday, October 1, that layoffs are imminent as the first day of the government shutdown unfolded, although Vice President JD Vance stressed that no final decisions have yet been made, Reuters reported.
What to Know
The US government shutdown, with emergency services open, began early Wednesday morning, after the Senate adjourned Tuesday evening without passing a funding resolution (the bill that would keep the government running) and a midnight deadline passed to keep all federal operations running. In back-to-back votes Tuesday, Republicans and Democrats blocked each other’s stopgap proposals, guaranteeing a midnight shutdown for the first time since 2019.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has indicated that government agencies are already preparing for the cuts.
“Unfortunately, because the Democrats shut down the government, the president has directed his Cabinet, and the Office of Management and Budget is working with agencies across the board to identify where cuts can be made, and we believe that layoffs are imminent,” Leavitt told reporters.
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Vice President Vance acknowledged that the situation could quickly escalate into layoffs if the shutdown continues but said no final decisions have been made yet on whether certain workers will be laid off or furloughed.
“Well, first of all, we haven’t made any final decisions about what we’re going to do with certain workers,” Vice President Vance told reporters.
This article includes reporting from Reuters.