As the shutdown drags on, the threat of permanent cuts is mired in politics

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President Trump said Thursday that he would meet with his budget director, Russ Vought, about which "Democrat Agencies" to cut as the federal government has lurched into a shutdown.

The federal government's day-to-day operations are carried out by nonpartisan workers with some federal agencies led by political appointees. But the Trump administration is using the shutdown to take aim at the Democratic Party.

"I can't believe the Radical Left Democrats gave me this unprecedented opportunity," Trump wrote on Truth Social. He called on Republicans to use the shutdown to "clear out dead wood" and said billions of dollars can be saved "by eliminating waste and fraud," though did not give any examples.

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While some call the Trump administration's threats a political "bluff" to force Democrats to come back to the negotiating table, Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, seems to be making good on that promise.

He announced Wednesday the cancellation of $8 billion in energy projects. He also promised to cancel $18 billion in infrastructure funding to New York City, targeting the home state of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

Vought has also warned that layoffs of federal workers would begin within days — though any reductions-in-force would have to come from agencies themselves and follow certain