White House Says Federal Layoffs Likely in the Thousands Amid Government Shutdown

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Oct. 2 that the number of federal employees who are being laid off amid the government shutdown will be in the thousands.

“That’s something that the Office of Management and Budget and the entire team at the White House here, again, is unfortunately having to work on today,” Leavitt told reporters.

If there were no government shutdown, she added, “these discussions and these conversations, these meetings, would not be happening.”

Leavitt’s comments were made ahead of President Donald Trump’s meeting with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought on Oct. 2. The president had confirmed the meeting in a post on Truth Social, which also stated that he would target federal agencies during the shutdown.

When a lapse in funding occurs, U.S. law requires federal agencies to cease activity and furlough “non-excepted” employees. Excepted employees stay on the job but don’t get paid until after the shutdown ends.

Meanwhile, senators are breaking Thursday for the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. They will return on Friday to vote again on a GOP measure to extend federal funding for seven weeks.

Democrats want health care subsidies extended under a bill that would also reopen the government. Republicans have said there’s still time to negotiate on health care this year, but stopgap funding for the government is the priority. Republicans have also said that Democrats want to provide free health care to illegal immigrants.

Speaking at the White House on Oct. 1, Vice President JD Vance said that federal agencies would not be targeted based on politics, adding, “We’re willing to have a conversation about ensuring that Americans continue to have access to health care.”

In a memo released last month, the OMB said that federal agencies should prepare for a reduction-in-force plan, or mass layoffs, during the government shutdown.

“Programs that did not benefit from an infusion of mandatory appropriations will bear the brunt of a shutdown,” the OMB said in the memo, directing agencies to submit proposed reduction-in-force plans to the OMB and issue notices to employees.

Trump also told One America News that actions other than layoffs could be taken during the shutdown.

“We could cut projects that [Democrats] wanted, favorite projects, and they’d be permanently cut,” Trump said. “I’m allowed to cut things that should have never been approved in the first place, and I will probably do that.”

On Oct. 1, Vought announced on X that he will cut billions in funding to infrastructure projects in New York City, including a new rail tunnel beneath the Hudson River between New York City and New Jersey and an extension of the city’s Second Avenue subway.

The OMB head also wrote that $8 billion in Green New Deal funding will be canceled in a number of Democratic-run states, including California, New York, and Illinois.

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on X, “Obstructing these projects is stupid and counterproductive because they create tens of thousands of great jobs and are essential for a strong regional and national economy.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.