Vance warns of more workforce layoffs if shutdown continues
(MENAFN) U.S. Vice President JD Vance has cautioned that more federal employees could lose their jobs if the ongoing government shutdown continues, adding to the thousands of positions already eliminated.
“The longer this goes on, the deeper the cuts are going to be,” Vance said during an interview. “To be clear, some of these cuts are going to be painful.”
According to reports, Democrats have accused Republicans of harming ordinary Americans by refusing to include federal health insurance subsidies in the government’s spending package.
The shutdown, now nearing its third week, has left hundreds of thousands of federal workers furloughed without pay, and no new congressional vote has been scheduled to reopen the government.
The impasse began on October 1, after Democrats rejected a temporary funding proposal, insisting that the federal budget must extend health insurance subsidies under the Affordable Care Act.
On Friday, the Trump administration announced that seven federal agencies—including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)—had begun laying off more than 4,000 employees.
However, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services later clarified that some CDC dismissal notices had been sent in error. “Those CDC employees have all been notified that they are not subject to the reduction in force,” Andrew Nixon said.
Union representatives reported that out of approximately 1,300 CDC workers dismissed Friday, around 700 were rehired the following day.
While essential personnel such as air traffic controllers and federal law enforcement officers must continue working without pay, an exception has been made for U.S. military service members.
President Donald Trump instructed Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to secure funding to ensure that troops receive their paychecks this week. In response, the Department of Defense announced plans to reallocate about $8 billion from “unobligated research development testing and evaluation funds” to cover military wages on October 15 if the funding deadlock persists.
Democratic Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona reiterated on Sunday that his party will not support a budget deal unless it includes the restoration of federal healthcare subsidies. Speaking on television, Kelly argued that Republicans “don’t have to do this, they don’t have to punish people.”
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, meanwhile, confirmed that he would not support extending the subsidies.
Vance placed the blame on Democrats, stating: “This is not a situation we relish, [these layoffs] are not something we're looking forward to, but the Democrats have dealt us a pretty difficult set of cards.”
As the standoff continues, the effects of the shutdown are expanding across federal institutions. Several Smithsonian museums, research facilities, and the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., closed their doors on Sunday after running out of operating funds.
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