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As the federal government shutdown continues, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt suggested on Thursday that there could be “thousands” of firings of federal workers.
“Can you give us an estimate on the amount of federal workers that the Trump administration wants to fire during the shutdown?” one reporter asked Leavitt outside the White House.
“Look, it’s likely going to be in the thousands,” she said. “It’s a very good question and it’s something the Office of Management and Budget and the entire team at the White House here again, is unfortunately having to work on today.”
She added, “These discussions and these conversations, these meetings, would not have happened if the Democrats had voted to keep the government open.”
In comments to One America News, President Trump foreshadowed this potential wave of firings amid the federal shutdown, which was sparked by Democrats’ decision to vote against a continuing resolution approved by the House.
“Well, there could be firings and that’s their fault,” President Trump said. “And there could also be other things. We could cut projects that they wanted, favorite projects, and they’d be permanently cut.”
He added, “I’m allowed to cut things that should have never been approved in the first place.”
Democrats have offered a counter-proposal to the “clean” CR, something House Republicans have labeled a “Dirty CR,” which demands the repeal of critical provisions passed into law in the “One Big Beautiful Bill.” Namely, Democrats are seeking a restoration of taxpayer-funded healthcare for illegal aliens.
On Thursday, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., pointed out that, in the past, “every single Democrat” has voted for a simple CR, as recently as 2024.
“They would rather give taxpayer-funded benefits to illegal aliens than to keep the doors open for American citizens,” he told the press.
