White House escalates shutdown standoff, warns of ‘imminent’ mass firings 

The United States government shutdown deepened Wednesday after last-ditch negotiations collapsed, with Democrats leaving Washington without a funding deal and the White House threatening sweeping public sector job cuts.

Federal funding expired at midnight following a failure by President Donald Trump and lawmakers to reach an agreement, forcing agencies to scale back services. The White House raised the stakes further, warning of “imminent” layoffs among federal employees.

Senate Democrats, who are demanding an extension of health care subsidies for low-income families, blocked a Republican-backed House bill that would have temporarily reopened government services for several weeks. With voting adjourned until Friday, hopes for a swift resolution evaporated.

The shutdown has already placed around 750,000 federal workers on furlough, leaving them without pay until government operations resume. Essential staff, including border agents and the military, are being compelled to work without pay, with missed paychecks expected next week. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association warned of potential safety risks after more than 2,300 of its members were sent home.

This showdown carries higher stakes than previous shutdowns, with Trump pushing to slash departments and threatening to make furloughs permanent. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt confirmed the administration was “working with agencies across the board to identify where cuts can be made… and we believe that layoffs are imminent.”

Further inflaming tensions, White House official Russell Vought revealed that the Department of Energy was moving to terminate clean energy projects, all based in Democratic-led states. He accused the programs of advancing “the Left’s climate agenda.” Meanwhile, the Department of Transportation froze nearly $18 billion in infrastructure funding for New York. Governor Kathy Hochul condemned the move as “political payback.”

Shutdowns, a recurring symptom of Washington gridlock, have historically been unpopular because they shutter services relied upon by ordinary citizens, from national parks to permit offices. Terese Johnston, a 61-year-old retired tour guide visiting Washington, lamented the impasse: “I think our government needs to learn how to work together for the people and find a way to make things not happen like this. You compromise. You find ways. So everybody gives a little bit, everybody takes a little bit, and things work.”

Democrats, angered by the expiration of health care subsidies and Trump’s sweeping dismantling of federal programs, are using their Senate votes as leverage. Republicans, however, are refusing to bend.

Vice President JD Vance, in an unusually prominent role during a White House briefing, lashed out at Democrats: “They said to us, ‘we will open the government, but only if you give billions of dollars of funding for health care for illegal aliens.’ That’s a ridiculous proposition.”

US law requires emergency medical treatment for anyone, regardless of immigration status, but bars undocumented immigrants from receiving the expanded health care benefits Democrats are demanding. Democrats have not introduced any legislation to overturn this restriction.

House Republicans have already passed a stop-gap bill to keep the government funded through late November, but the Senate lacks the 60 votes needed to advance it. Democrats insist they will not support the measure without significant compromises on proposed spending cuts, particularly in health care.

Republican leaders, who need eight Democratic votes, secured support from three moderates on Tuesday but failed again in Wednesday’s vote.

Congress is not scheduled to meet Thursday due to the Yom Kippur holiday. The Senate resumes Friday and may sit through the weekend, but the House is not expected back until next week.