Washington (EFE).- The White House stated that layoffs of public workers are imminent due to the federal government shutdown that began on Wednesday.
“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,” said White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt at a press conference.
Russell Vought, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, said in a call with journalists that the measure could be adopted within “two days.”
When asked for a date and the approximate number of layoffs, Leavitt said she could not provide more details at the moment.
In line with the Trump administration’s desire to streamline the government, the Office of Management and Budget sent a memo days ago ordering various agencies to identify programs classified as nonessential to activate layoffs if the federal shutdown continued.
On Wednesday, the Senate rejected two budget proposals, one presented by Democrats and the other by Republicans, in an attempt to lift the partial federal government shutdown. It was the first attempt since nonessential Central Administration functions were suspended at midnight.
As occurred on Tuesday during the previous two attempts to avert the shutdown, the Democrats’ proposal was defeated by a vote of 53 to 47.
The Republican proposal also failed, receiving only 55 votes in favor and 45 against, five votes short of the 60 required for passage.
Democratic senators John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada deviated from their party’s stance and, as they did on Tuesday, supporting the Republican proposal.
To secure the necessary votes for the Republican package, Democrats demanded that the subsidies for the Obamacare healthcare program, set to expire in 2025, be renewed, and that the healthcare cuts included in President Donald Trump’s major tax and budget reduction bill be revoked.
However, Republicans, who have repeatedly accused the opposition of wanting to provide healthcare to undocumented migrants, said they would negotiate these demands once the economic appropriations were approved.
On Wednesday, United States Vice President JD Vance insisted on blaming Democrats for the shutdown because of their proposals to benefit “illegal aliens,” which Democrats deny. He also indicated that he does not expect the federal shutdown to last long.
“I actually don’t think it’s going to be that long of a shutdown,” he said in an appearance at the White House held after the Senate votes.
He said that over the next few weeks, they will do everything possible to ensure the population receives essential services. Then he warned that the Trump administration would have to lay off some officials if the shutdown continues.
According to estimates by the Congressional Budget Office, approximately 750,000 nonessential federal employees have been furloughed without pay due to the shutdown.
Meanwhile, just over 1.5 million officials, including security forces and air traffic controllers, continue to work, though they will not be paid until the shutdown is resolved. EFE
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