WASHINGTON (AP) – The White House tells agencies to prepare for a massive firing of federal workers The government shuts down next week.
In a memo released Wednesday night, the Office of Business and Budget said agencies should consider cutting the power of federal programs, which will expire next week, otherwise they would not be funded and “not in line with the president’s priorities.” This would be a much more aggressive step than the previous closure. Federal workers were not considered essential, but they returned to their work after Congress approved government spending.
The cuts in power will not only fire employees, but also eliminate their position, but will also cause even more dramatic changes in the federal workforce, which is already facing major cuts this year, due to government efficiency and efforts from elsewhere in the Trump administration.
Once the potential closure of government closures is over, politicians will be asked to modify the cuts “as needed to maintain the minimum number of employees needed to perform statutory functions,” according to a memo originally reported.
This move from OMB will significantly increase the outcome of potential government closures next week and escalate pressure Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer and House minority leader Hakem Jeffries. They united almost all Democrats and continued to run the federal government for another seven weeks, opposing the clean fundraising bill promoted by President Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans.
OMB said it held its first planning call with other federal agencies earlier this week, and plans to shut down. The Budget Office will help manage federal government closures and especially help them plan ahead. Past Budget Offices also post emergency response plans for shutdowns. This outlines which agencies workers will remain at work during government shutdowns and which will remain at work on their website. This isn’t.
The memo noted that Congressional Democrats have refused to support clean government funding bills “due to their partisan demands,” including an extension of the enhanced health insurance subsidy set to expire at the end of the year, and a reversal of the Medicaid cuts that were included. Republicans’ big tax and spending laws.
“So, if Democrats choose to pursue one, it has never been more important for the administration to prepare for a shutdown,” the memo says, a major tax and border spending package, the GOP’s signature law, “providing enough resources to ensure that the priorities of many core administrations are not disrupted.”
The OMB said it had asked all agencies to submit plans in case the government closes by August 1st.
“OMB is not everything, but not everything,” he added. “Please send us your updated Lapse Plan as soon as possible.”
