Amid escalating tensions with Senate Democrats, the US president cautions that a failure to secure government/” title=”Idris Elba to Lead Sherbro Island Eco…City Project Backed by Sierra Leone’s …”>funding could trigger widespread federal workforce reductions during a potential government shutdown.
Published On 25 Sep 2025
The Trump administration has intensified its confrontation with Senate Democrats over the impending risk of a partial government shutdown, warning that a failure to secure funding could lead to permanent layoffs across various federal departments.
On Wednesday evening, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), a pivotal player in the president’s initiative to streamline government operations, issued a directive to federal agencies. The memo instructed them to pinpoint programs and activities that would lose discretionary funding starting October 1 if Congress does not enact the necessary appropriations to maintain government operations.
“Programs lacking mandatory funding boosts will face the most severe impacts during a shutdown,” the memo stated.
Federal agencies were also ordered to prepare detailed plans for workforce reductions and to notify employees who might be furloughed or terminated should the shutdown proceed.
The United States is on the verge of its 15th partial government shutdown since 1981, as lawmakers remain deadlocked over discretionary spending for the upcoming fiscal year, which accounts for roughly 25% of the $7 trillion federal budget.
Earlier this month, the Republican-led House passed a temporary funding measure to keep the government operational until November 21. However, Senate Democrats rejected the proposal, insisting that any funding bill must reverse recent cuts to healthcare programs.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer condemned the OMB’s warning as a scare tactic. “This is an intimidation effort,” Schumer declared. “Since the beginning of his term, Donald Trump has been dismissing federal employees-not to manage government effectively, but to instill fear.”
This is an attempt at intimidation.
Donald Trump has been firing federal workers since day one-not to govern, but to scare.
This is nothing new and has nothing to do with funding the government.
These unnecessary firings will either be overturned in court or the… pic.twitter.com/M4mms6tFGS
– Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) September 25, 2025
This hardline stance marks a shift for Democrats, who earlier this year worked to avoid a shutdown. Since the Trump administration’s inception, Schumer has criticized OMB Director Russ Vought’s policies as harmful to federal employees and the nation.
President Trump has pursued a strategy to downsize the federal civilian workforce, which numbers approximately 2.4 million. According to Scott Kupor, Director of the Office of Personnel Management, around 300,000 federal civilian employees are expected to leave their positions by the end of 2025.
Of those, about 154,000 accepted voluntary buyouts and will officially exit the government payroll on September 30, coinciding with the close of the fiscal year.
During a similar funding impasse in March, Schumer and other Senate Democrats expressed concern that a shutdown could be exploited to accelerate federal workforce reductions. At that time, Schumer joined nine fellow Democrats in supporting a stopgap funding bill to prevent a shutdown, despite criticism from some party members who felt leadership was not sufficiently opposing the Republican administration.
Republican leaders have so far resisted engaging in negotiations with Democrats over the funding dispute.
Senator Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat from Maryland representing many federal employees near Washington, D.C., condemned the president’s threat as “mafia-style blackmail,” emphasizing that these public servants should not be caught in the crossfire of political disagreements.
