Sarah Newman, a longtime Education Department worker, is comforted after clearing out her office in the agency's headquarters in Washington, D.C., on March 28, 2025.

WASHINGTON – The stakes of an impending government shutdown just got much higher.

In a memo sent to federal agencies Sept. 24, President Donald Trump's White House Office of Management and Budget warned of potentially yet another round of mass firings if government funding lapses next week.

"Programs that did not benefit from an infusion of mandatory appropriations will bear the brunt of a shutdown," the notice said.

Days before a shutdown is set to begin after midnight on Oct. 1, the warning from the Trump administration sent a clear message to Democrats: This shutdown won’t be like others.

Previously, federal workers have been temporarily furloughed until lawmakers reached deals to turn the government’s lights back on − with Congress later voting to ensure the employees are paid during their time away. During the most recent 35-day shutdown, back in 2018, about 380,000 workers were furloughed while another 420,000 were on the job without pay (they were guaranteed back pay, though.)

While that may still happen in many cases this time around, the OMB memo underlined Trump's willingness to use a shutdown as an opportunity to slash more government jobs and put pressure on Senate Democrats whose votes are needed to ensure the lights stay on.

Fears of further federal workforce reductions − amid already painful cuts enacted by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency − had Democrats on edge during a moment of brinksmanship earlier this year over government spending. The executive branch has historically had large sway in using its spending powers during a shutdown, which led Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and nine more Democrats to join their GOP colleagues in voting to keep the government open.

“It would be devastation like we have never seen,” Schumer said on “The View” in March. The White House, he argued at the time, “could cut off anything they want simply by saying it’s not essential.”

More than six months later, Democrats feel differently.

After facing intense criticism for working with Republicans last time around, Schumer and many in his party are eager to use what little leverage Democrats have in a GOP-controlled Washington to push for concessions from Trump, particularly around health care.

With Musk pushed out of the administration and DOGE's influence waning, some onlookers predicted in the weeks leading up to the shutdown deadline that the White House would be less eager to terminate more jobs. The federal government is already on track to lose roughly 300,000 workers this year, officials have said. After announcing mass layoffs, many agencies eventually rehired for positions that were initially eliminated.

The OMB memo is nothing more than a scare tactic, Schumer said the day it went out.

“This is an attempt at intimidation," he said in a statement. "This is nothing new and has nothing to do with funding the government. These unnecessary firings will either be overturned in court or the administration will end up hiring the workers back, just like they did as recently as today.”

Trump blamed Democrats when asked in the Oval Office Sept. 25 why the administration would push for layoffs in the event of a shutdown, rather than just furloughs.

“This is all caused by the Democrats,” Trump told reporters. “They asked us to do something that is totally unreasonable. They never change."

The main union for federal workers, the American Federation of Government Employees, urged Republicans and Democrats to come together instead of scaring hardworking Americans.

“Federal employees are not bargaining chips," the union's national president, Everett Kelley, said in a Sept. 25 statement. "They are veterans, caregivers, law enforcement officers, and neighbors who serve their country and fellow Americans every day. They deserve stability and respect, not pink slips and political games."

Are Republicans and Democrats any closer to a deal?

Despite the White House's layoff threats, Democrats aren't yet budging. Republicans don't seem to be, either.

GOP lawmakers and the president want to pass a stopgap measure that funds the government at current levels until just before Thanksgiving. Democrats say that's a nonstarter – unless Republicans help them extend expiring Obamacare subsidies and reverse recent Medicaid cuts.

Republican leaders, worried about rising health care costs for their constituents, have expressed openness to dealing with at least some of those issues, just not when government funding is about to run out.

"I'm happy to have the conversation," Senate Majority Leader John Thune told CNN on Sept. 24. “This is not the time and place to do this."

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters this week that verbal commitments from GOP leaders won't be enough to satisfy Democrats.

"There's no trust that exists between House Democrats and House Republicans given the fact they've consistently tried to undermine bipartisan agreements that they themselves have reached," he said. "Any agreement related to protecting health care has to be ironclad and in legislation."

Trump was scheduled to meet this week with Schumer and Jeffries, but he canceled after deciding their demands were "unserious and ridiculous." Schumer has said Democrats are still open to sitting down with the president to negotiate.

Contributing: Reuters

Zachary Schermele is a congressional reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach him by email at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and Bluesky at @zachschermele.bsky.social.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump White House raises shutdown stakes with mass firings threat

Reporting by Zachary Schermele, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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