“They have actually already fired at least 150,000 federal workers,” said Jayapal. “They’ve already slashed agencies across the board and [Office of Management and Budget director] Russ Vought does want to use the shutdown to inflict more pain on the American people, instead of addressing the healthcare crisis that we have—both from the Big Bad Betrayal Bill and from the upcoming crisis we have around the Affordable Care Act subsidies.”
Jayapal’s comments came as Kevin Hassett, the National Economic Council director, told CNN that whether or not Trump takes advantage of what he has called an “unprecedented opportunity” to make more cuts to agencies is contingent on whether Democrats agree to the GOP spending proposal—which would keep the government funded for the time being but would allow for the expiration of Affordable Care Act subsidies and the Medicaid cuts that were part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
The expiration of the subsidies could raise health insurance premiums by an average of 75% for millions of Americans, according to a KFF analysis.
Hassett expressed hope that the Democrats will be “reasonable once they get back into town on Monday.”
“And if they are, then I think there’s no reason for those layoffs,” he said.
On Saturday, unions representing public employees filed a motion for a temporary restraining order to block the administration from moving forward with the mass firings, with Lee Saunders, president of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), placing the blame for the shutdown squarely with the GOP.
“These threatened mass firings are the latest attack on working people by an administration abusing its power to push through its extreme Project 2025 agenda,” said Saunders. “We’re facing a healthcare crisis with millions of Americans about to see their health insurance payments skyrocket, and instead of working across the aisle to solve it, the administration is threatening to use its orchestrated shutdown as an excuse to fire federal workers who perform critical services that Americans rely on. The threatened mass firings are unlawful. Public service work is vital to our communities, and we will do everything in our power to defend it.”
AFSCME and the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) requested the temporary restraining order days after filing a lawsuit against Vought and other administration officials over the mass firing threat.
Norm Eisen, executive chair of Democracy Defenders Fund, which is helping to represent the unions, noted that Congress mandates “strict limits for personnel matters during a shutdown.”
“Donald Trump’s and his administration’s rampant lawlessness continues, and so must the effort to hold him accountable,” said Eisen. “The administration’s latest outrage against the Constitution and human decency is abusing the government shutdown to put in motion the firing of government workers. But Trump and his team have no such legal authority.”
“The federal courts have served as a bulwark against prior illegalities, and we look forward to a hearing here,” he added.
Democrats in Illinois last week accused the president of also using the shutdown to threaten congressionally approved funding for infrastructure projects in Chicago.
”Donald Trump and Russ Vought of Project 2025 are using this shutdown to inflict as much pain as they can,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) Saturday. “They’re withholding federal money that has already been approved by Congress to target and punish American communities. This is illegal.”
