WASHINGTON >> Throughout the government shutdown, President Donald Trump and his top aides have repeatedly threatened to conduct another round of mass federal layoffs, insisting at times that they may have to shed workers to keep essential services from closing down.

But the firings now under consideration may be unlawful or unnecessary, according to a wide range of budget experts, legal scholars and union officials. They say that the White House is only looking to exploit the fiscal stalemate to further its political agenda, shrink the government and punish Democrats.

At the heart of the matter is a familiar question in Trump’s second term: To what extent may he reconfigure the sprawling federal bureaucracy without a clear directive from Congress?

Trump has already dismissed thousands

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