On the second day of the U.S. government shutdown, Trump said he was considering laying off thousands of federal employees.

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Media reports say that U.S. President Trump is considering laying off "tens of thousands" of federal employees, and he will make a decision before meeting with White House Budget Director Russell Vought. Analysts say the White House aims to increase pressure on the Democrats to push for an end to the government shutdown, which is now in its second day.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Thursday: "The scale of layoffs is likely to reach thousands." She emphasized that "the entire White House team" is working hard to identify positions that can be cut.

"We will review those agencies that are inconsistent with government values and that we believe are wasting taxpayers' money."

Leavitt's comments came after Trump's social media statement earlier that day. Trump stated he planned to meet with Vought,

"to decide which Democratic agencies to cut—most of which are political scams—and to assess whether these cuts will be temporary or permanent."

Media say that Republicans are trying to use the threat of permanent cuts to federal agencies to force Democrats to vote to reopen the government. The White House also says that dismissals may happen soon. However, some budget experts believe that spending money on permanent layoffs during a shutdown is illegal.

House Speaker Mike Johnson met with Trump at the White House on Thursday. Earlier, he defended Trump’s threats, saying the President has the right to dismiss employees and cut spending during a shutdown. He blamed the funding interruption on the Democrats.

Johnson told reporters:

"If they continue to keep the government shut down, the pain will only get worse. The White House will allocate funds according to government priorities."

Vought has already started withholding funds for New York City transit projects and clean energy projects in states that voted for Democratic candidate Harris in 2024.

It is still unclear what the specific scale of federal downsizing will be, but West Virginia Republican Senator Shelley Moore Capito predicts there could be significant cuts. She told the media:

"Do I think Vought wants to significantly shrink the government? Absolutely. He’s been very clear about that."

Analysts believe that this tough strategy by the White House goes far beyond the usual practice during shutdowns, when federal employees are usually furloughed and compensated after the government resumes operations.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that about 750,000 employees will be furloughed due to the shutdown, losing $400 million in pay per day.

Political Struggle

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent accused Democrats of being "insincere" in the government funding negotiations. He told the media: "Democrats want to negotiate like terrorists," and added that Republicans are seeking a "clean" temporary funding bill. Democrats, on the other hand, want to include healthcare subsidies in the funding legislation.

Massachusetts Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren said in a media interview that Democrats have been "begging" Republicans to negotiate, but so far there have been "absolutely no" substantive talks because Republicans simply haven't participated.

A media poll shows that more voters blame Trump and the Republicans for the government shutdown than the Democrats, with a margin of 17 percentage points. Independent voters overwhelmingly side with the Democrats on this issue. In addition, Democrats are more united than Republicans: only 67% of Republicans blame the Democrats, while 87% of Democrats blame the Republicans.

Due to the Yom Kippur holiday, neither the House of Representatives nor the Senate has scheduled any votes for Thursday. The Senate is expected to reconvene on Friday, but Republican leader John Thune said it is "very likely" there will not be a vote this weekend. The House will not return to Washington until next Tuesday.

Florida Republican Congressman Byron Donalds said in a media interview that he expects the impasse to last at least until early next week.

"I think this is likely to last until next week, or even longer. It really depends on Schumer."

Democrats are pushing to extend the Affordable Care Act subsidies, which are set to expire at the end of the year. Republicans say they want to resolve the government funding issue first before negotiating on that.

Republican and House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole said to the media:

"Whether it's a Republican- or Democratic-led shutdown, it has never achieved its intended goals. It's a very stupid thing."

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