During the first eight months of his second presidency, Donald Trump has tried to hollow out the federal workforce by any means possible, including paying more than 200,000 people not to work, disassembling entire agencies via the Department of Government Efficiency, and fighting in court any effort by employees to hang on to their job. This week, Trump could try his most audacious move yet: using a government shutdown to conduct mass firings.

The congressional impasse over spending may now supercharge Trump’s efforts to slash the civil service—just as the bulk of those being paid not to work lose their job when the fiscal year ends. Should the government shut down tomorrow, it could lead to the dramatic winnowing of its size that conservatives have sought for decades. The complexities of collective-bargaining agreements and civil-service protections, not to mention the real-life impact of eliminating people who provide benefits to the public, have stalled past efforts to shrink the government. Trump has shown no inclination to slow down.

Voluntary-resignation programs were broadly available to most federal workers earlier this year. Now Trump is using the threat of permanent job cuts to specifically target jobs that don’t align with his priorities, aides told us. The president, who in recent weeks has been firing federal prosecutors who don’t bend to his will, has become bolder in his push to reshape the government to suit his preferences. And he’s empowered Russell Vought, the White House budget director who has long been an evangelist of slashing the government, to cut away.

Vought will do “what DOGE couldn’t do,” one senior White House official granted anonymity to discuss internal strategy told us. “He’s wanted to hurt the bureaucracy; he’s wanted to shrink the bureaucracy.