Shutdown Looms as White House Warns of Federal Layoffs

With midnight Tuesday approaching, federal agencies are bracing for layoffs if Congress fails to act.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt warned that Democrats are playing politics at the expense of federal workers. Agencies have been instructed to prepare reduction-in-force plans, meaning furloughs and possible terminations for employees tied to programs without funding.

Although the Republican-led House passed a short-term continuing resolution last week, the Senate has stalled over Democratic demands for additional provisions, leaving Schumer caught between progressive hardliners and the looming fiscal crisis.

“This guidance is unusually sharp,” noted insiders, accusing Democrats of derailing what has historically been a bipartisan process. Meanwhile, Schumer’s public messaging contradicts his private proposals, intensifying tensions within his own caucus and raising questions about whether he can maintain control as the shutdown clock ticks down.