US government shuts down as Trump threatens mass federal layoffs

The United States government has once again entered a shutdown after President Donald Trump’s Republican Party failed to resolve a budget standoff with opposition Democrats.

The temporary closure, which halts key federal services, comes Wednesday after Republicans and Democrats were unable to pass a spending bill to fund government operations into October and beyond.

Although budget confrontations are common in US politics, this shutdown could have a particularly severe impact on federal workers, as Trump has threatened to lay off “a lot of people that are going to be very affected.”

The president said at an event on Tuesday that “a lot of good can come down from shutdowns,” warning that he would use the pause to “get rid of a lot of things we didn’t want, and they’d be Democrat things.”

Roughly 750,000 federal workers are expected to be furloughed, with some potentially permanently fired by the Trump administration. Many offices will be shuttered, and the president warned he may take “irreversible” actions as retribution.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Tuesday that Democrats “will not be intimidated” by threats to fire federal employees during the shutdown. Two major federal employee unions also filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, accusing it of illegally threatening mass layoffs.

Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Jeffries said in a statement that “Trump and Republicans have now shut down the federal government because they do not want to protect the health care of the American people.”

They said Democrats remain ready to pursue a bipartisan path to reopen the government.

Republicans control both chambers of Congress but lack the 60 votes needed in the Senate to pass a spending bill. This gives opposition Democrats leverage, particularly on healthcare funding, where they have refused to back a Republican bill that would make it harder for Americans to afford coverage.

The Senate is expected to reconvene to vote later on Wednesday on the same two bills that previously failed.

The Trump administration previously oversaw a shutdown lasting 35 days in late 2018—the longest in modern US history.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the 2018-2019 shutdown reduced economic output by roughly $11 billion, including $3 billion that was never recovered.

This time, the government shutdown is likely to produce an immediate economic jolt, with disruptions potentially felt within days.

While financial markets have historically “shrugged” off past shutdowns, a Goldman Sachs analysis warns that this standoff could have a more pronounced effect, given the lack of any indication that broader negotiations between Republicans and Democrats are underway.

Economists have long argued that government shutdowns disproportionately harm ordinary Americans, disrupting paychecks and essential services while doing little to resolve political deadlocks.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.ir