Donald J. Trump on Friday told reporters that the ongoing layoffs of furloughed federal workers amid the government shutdown will be “Democrat-oriented.” In turn, unions have already filed a lawsuit. American Federation of Government Employees National President Everett Kelley wrote in a statement that it “is disgraceful that the Trump administration has used the government shutdown as an excuse to illegally fire thousands of workers who provide critical services to communities across the country.”
This is Trump’s shutdown. Period. Republicans control all the branches of government. Democrats want ACA subsidies extended, which would rise sharply starting in 2026. Still, Trump continued the false Republican talking point, saying Democrats want “to give one and a half trillion dollars to people that came to the country illegally.”
“Well, Russell Vogt said the reductions in force have begun related to this shutdown,” a reporter said. “How many layoffs have you authorized for this first round, and from which agencies?”
“And it will be Democrat oriented because we figure, you know, they started this thing,” Trump said. “So they should be Democrat oriented. It’ll be a lot. And we’ll announce the numbers over the next couple of days.”
