White House budget office threatens mass firings if government shuts down

(CNN) — The White House budget office is telling federal agencies to prepare plans for mass firings in the event of a government shutdown , with instructions to target programs they are not legally required to continue.

The directive, outlined in an Office of Management and Budget memo to agencies and obtained by CNN, represents a sharp break from the government’s handling of past shutdown scenarios — and an escalation by the Trump administration amid a standoff with congressional Democrats over federal funding.

In the memo, OMB directs agencies to identify programs whose funds will lapse if Congress fails to meet the September 30 funding deadline and that have no alternative source of funding. Those programs should then be targeted for sweeping reductions in force that could permanen