Trump readies DOGE-style bloodbath as government shutdown turns into Democrat nightmare

Donald Trump is dangling a jobs bloodbath over the federal workforce as a sword of Damocles if the Democrats fail to agree a deal to end the government shut down.

Russell Vought, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), is meeting with House Republicans at 1pm to discuss the DOGE-style cuts.

The government shut down began at 12.01 on Wednesday after Democrats and Republicans failed to reach a deal on funding. The Democrats are demanding billions of renewed spending on Obamacare after it was slashed in Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill.

Vought, a Trump appointee, is responsible for some 3 million workers as head of the OMB which decides during shut downs who continues working, who is furloughed and which services must continue.

Before the shutdown, the OMB chief told agencies to get ready for a ‘reduction in force notices for all employees’, specifically highlighting departments and programs that he referred to as ‘not consistent with the president’s priorities.’

In an OMB memo sent last Wednesday, the White House asked federal agencies to produce a list of ‘reductions in force’ – translating to layoffs for employees whose work isn’t paid with money from the Big Beautiful Bill, obligatory funds, or whole ‘Programs and projects’ that are not consistent with ‘the president’s priorities.’

In a sign that he is playing hardball, Vought — a staunch conservative and architect of Project 2025 — announced today that he was putting $18 billion in New York City infrastructure projects on hold to prevent funds ‘flowing based on unconstitutional DEI principles.’

Schumer dismissed Vought’s threat to government employees last week as ‘an attempt at intimidation.’

Trump continued provoking democratic leaders last night, taking to truth social, posting an AI video showing Jeffries with a cartoonish sombrero and handlebar mustache, trash-talking the democratic party as Latin music plays in the background with President Trump’s doppelgängers as the mariachi band

After the failure of both proposals, Vought instructed federal agencies to begin implementing their contingency plans for a structured shutdown

‘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,’ he said.

The funding freeze targets the districts of Democrat lawmakers including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries who are leading the obstruction against Trump’s agenda.

Trump continued provoking democratic leaders last night, taking to truth social, posting an AI video showing Jeffries with a cartoonish sombrero and handlebar mustache, trash-talking the democratic party as Latin music plays in the background with President Trump’s doppelgängers as the mariachi band.

‘Hours away from a shutdown, which we don’t want, the American people don’t want, the president is busy trolling away on the internet like 10-year-old,’ Schumer vented on the Senate floor, adding that this is exactly the reason why Americans are going to blame him if the government shuts down.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said today that the pain of this shutdown will be felt across all aspects as long as the shutdown lasts.

‘Democrats have dragged our country into another reckless shutdown… whether it ends is up to them,’ Johnson said at a conference earlier today.

Labor unions are now suing the Trump administration in response.

Groups advocating for hundreds of thousands of federal employees have taken legal action over the administration’s warnings to dismiss government workers during the shutdown.

The lawsuit was created right ahead of the funding deadline at midnight by the American Federation of Government Employees and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. In the court case, they argue that the president’s actions go against the law and are ‘arbitrary and capricious.’

The court filing specifically calls out Vought, and the Office of Personnel Management director Scott Kupor.

Groups advocating for hundreds of thousands of federal employees have taken legal action over the administration’s warnings to dismiss government workers during the shutdown

The shutdown cuts is also bleeding into other departments, like the US Department of Transportation

‘Federal workers do the work of the people and playing games with their livelihoods is cruel and unlawful,’ said Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, in a statement.

At the eleventh hour on Tuesday, bi-partisan efforts to extend government funding was rejected by the Senate, resulting in a federal government shutdown that began at 12.01am Wednesday.

The government ran out of funds after the Senate failed to pass two separate measures: a Democrat-supported bill aimed at prolonging subsidies under the Affordable Care Act and restoring Medicaid funding, and a Republican-backed temporary funding proposal intended to keep the government operating for an additional seven weeks.

After the failure of both proposals, Vought instructed federal agencies to begin implementing their contingency plans for a structured shutdown.