The ongoing government shutdown, spearheaded by President Donald Trump, is unfolding in an unprecedented manner. The administration has empowered the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) with extraordinary authority to determine which federal programs continue and which do not, effectively allowing it to decide who among federal workers keeps their job or faces termination. This approach marks a novel restructuring of the federal workforce.
Now into its third week, the shutdown appears set to deepen, as the OMB announced on Tuesday that it is preparing for further workforce reductions. President Trump has dubbed budget chief Russ Vought the “grim reaper” due to his decisive actions in financing Trump’s priorities, such as sustaining military pay while implementing significant job cuts in sectors like health, education, and science. These actions have drawn legal challenges.
According to Trump, programs favored by Democrats are particularly targeted, and he stated, “they’re never going to come back, in many cases.” At a White House event, he remarked, “We’re being able to do things that we were unable to do before.”
With Congress deadlocked — a Republican-led House refusing to convene and the Senate unable to pass votes to reopen the government due to Democratic demands for health care funding — the budget office has stepped in to fill the gap.
From Project 2025 to the White House
Russ Vought, a leading figure behind the conservative Project 2025 policy guide, is transforming federal government operations in line with this blueprint. This has been a concern for lawmakers, particularly Democrats, who feared such outcomes if Congress could not secure government funding.
Despite the closures, Trump’s key agendas — supporting the military and pursuing his mass deportation plans — continue largely unaffected. The administration has allocated leftover tariff revenues to maintain the Women, Infants, and Children food aid program.
However, many other programs are being terminated, with numerous workers, including those in special education and cybersecurity, facing layoffs. Over the weekend, more than 4,100 federal employees received layoff notices.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., criticized the administration, stating, “This shutdown is different from earlier ones because Donald Trump and Russ Vought and all of their cronies are using this moment to terrorize these patriotic federal employees.” He added that claims of firing federal workers due to the shutdown are “a big fat lie” and declared the actions illegal, promising to challenge them in court.
Shutdown grinds into a third week
Currently on its 14th day, this shutdown is approaching the length of one of the longest in U.S. history. Congress missed the October 1 deadline for passing the annual appropriations bills necessary to fund the government as Democrats demanded a deal to protect expiring health care funds that subsidize insurance through the Affordable Care Act.
House Speaker Mike Johnson stated on Tuesday that he has no basis for negotiation with Democrats until they vote to reopen the government. However, Senate Democrats have repeatedly rejected a GOP bill to restart government operations, with the latest refusal occurring Monday evening.
Johnson welcomed the OMB’s recent decisions to pay certain workers while laying off others, asserting, “They have every right to move the funds around.” At a Capitol press conference, he challenged Democrats to “bring it” if they wish to contest the administration’s actions in court.
Traditionally, federal employees are furloughed during a funding gap, typically receiving back pay once the government resumes normal operations. Nevertheless, Vought’s budget office revealed last week that workforce reductions have commenced, with around 750,000 employees facing furloughs.
Military pay, deportations on track
Amid the shutdown, Trump instructed the military to secure funds to ensure service members receive their paychecks. The Pentagon announced over the weekend that it tapped into $8 billion in unused research and development funds for payroll.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem reported on Tuesday that her agency leveraged Trump’s tax cuts law to guarantee Coast Guard personnel receive pay. “We at DHS worked out an innovative solution,” Noem stated, crediting Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” for enabling the Coast Guard to avoid missed paychecks.
In previous shutdowns, the OMB managed agency plans to determine essential workers. However, Vought has extended his role, openly discussing plans to target the federal workforce. As shutdown preparations began, the OMB encouraged department heads to consider workforce reductions, a previously unheard-of measure. The office’s general counsel, Mark Paoletta, suggested in a draft memo that back pay for furloughed workers might not be guaranteed once the government reopens.
‘Grim reaper’ replaces Elon Musk’s chainsaw
President Trump recently shared an AI-generated video depicting Vought as a cloaked figure wielding a scythe to the tune of “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper.” “Every authoritarian leader has had his grim reaper. Russell Vought is Donald Trump’s,” commented Rep. Steny Hoyer, a senior Democrat from Maryland.
Hoyer likened Vought’s actions to those of billionaire Elon Musk, who was portrayed using a chainsaw during workforce cuts at the Department of Government Efficiency. “Vought swings his scythe through the federal government as thoughtlessly,” he remarked.
Trump’s tax cuts law has provided the White House significant new funding for priority projects, bypassing the usual congressional appropriations process. The legislation released approximately $175 billion for the Pentagon, including the “Golden Dome” missile shield and other priorities, as well as $175 million for Homeland Security, mainly supporting Trump’s mass deportation plans. It also allocated additional funds for Vought’s OMB initiatives.
According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), certain funds from the tax cuts law are available for use during the shutdown. The CBO noted that the Departments of Defense, Treasury, Homeland Security, and the Office of Management and Budget received allocations under the law.
