Source: Reuters
“The Trump administration will start mass layoffs of federal workers if President Donald Trump decides negotiations with congressional Democrats to end a partial government shutdown are ‘absolutely going nowhere,’ a senior White House official said on Sunday. As the shutdown entered its fifth day, 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 that have been threatened by White House budget director Russell Vought. There have been no tangible signs of negotiations between congressional leaders since Trump met with them last week. The shutdown began on Oct. 1, the start of federal fiscal year 2026, after Senate Democrats rejected a short-term funding measure that would keep federal agencies open through Nov. 21.” (10/05/25)