President Donald Trump called on Republicans to "clear out dead wood, waste, and fraud" from within the federal government amid the first shutdown in nearly seven years .

"Republicans must use this opportunity of Democrat forced closure to clear out dead wood, waste, and fraud. Billions of Dollars can be saved. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" Trump wrote on his Truth Social account Wednesday (October 1) night.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt had confirmed that layoffs to some federal employees were "imminent" while addressing reporters earlier in the day on Wednesday.

"These are unfortunate consequences to a government shutdown," she said.

Top Republican and Democrat officials traded blame over who should "own" the government shutdown.

The Republican Party, which

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