Congress left town Wednesday without a solution to break its bitter impasse over government funding, with the shutdown now set to last until at least Friday when members return for more votes.
But with both parties dug in, many believe it could last even longer than that.
The White House is amplifying pressure on Democrats to cave, as President Donald Trump’s budget chief privately warned House Republicans on an afternoon conference call that mass layoffs would go into effect within the next two days, according to multiple people on the call. Russ Vought told the senators that layoffs would target agencies that don’t fit into the Trump administration’s priorities, the people said.
So far, however, Democratic leaders show no signs of backing down in the shutdown fight.
Many Democrats — including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries — downplayed the threat of mass firings as they argued that the White House had been already whittling down the size of the federal workforce.
“This is a job killing administration,” Jeffries said, arguing that Trump has been doing this since he was inaugurated. “So all this talk that we see right now as if it had anything to do with the shutdown that Republicans have caused.
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