In an attack on Democrats over the shutdown set to begin at midnight Wednesday, President Donald Trump warned that he will lay off a number of federal workers — and apparently they'll all be Democrats.
Speaking from the Oval Office on Tuesday afternoon, Trump was asked by a reporter why he needed to do layoffs during the shutdown when the "Department of Government Efficiency," or DOGE, had been making cuts across the whole of government.
"Well, the Democrats want to shut it down, so when you shut it down, you have to do layoffs. So, we'll be laying off a lot of people that are going to be very affected and they're Democrats. They're going to be Democrats," said Trump.
Aaron Fritschner, deputy chief of staff and communications director for Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), flagged Trump's response on X.
"A great question and apart from 'you have to do layoffs,' which as we all know is not true, a revealing answer from Trump: 'We will be laying off a lot of people that are going to be very affected… they’re going to be Democrats.'"
People who will not be working during the shutdown will be furloughed, which is a temporary pause in their paid employment. A layoff refers to the termination of an employee's employment altogether. In past decades, shutdowns have not resulted in layoffs.
The House, Senate and White House are all controlled by Republicans, and the GOP could pass an increase to the debt ceiling.
Still, Trump went on to claim the United States couldn't pay for healthcare for undocumented people, which is not among the requests from Democrats, who have asked that the Medicare cuts be restored. They also want to see that subsidies given to people for healthcare through the Affordable Care Act are also renewed. The healthcare expenses will be passed on to taxpayers starting Wednesday.
Trump then rambled that Democrats lost an election because they want everyone to be transgender.