Government shutdown 2025 What to know about government layoffs, Social Security – The federal government shut down at midnight as President Donald Trump and House Democrats blamed each other for failing to reach a deal in a tense battle over funding the government. It marks the 15th government shutdown since 1981, and there’s no imminent end in sight as congressional Democrats want health-care policy reforms that Trump and Republicans have refused to entertain.
Looming over the dispute is the potential of huge layoffs, with Trump predicting “vast numbers” of government workers might be sacked. The White House Office of Management and Budget indicated in a recent email that staff whose activities are “not consistent with the President’s priorities” are a target, while Vice President JD Vance told reporters that the government will “have to lay people off” if a shutdown drags for weeks.
The shutdown blame game also is ramping up. The White House website includes a clock indicating the amount of time “Democrats have shut down the government,” while the Democratic National Committee stated on social media early Wednesday that “Republicans own this shutdown.”
Mass federal layoffs will begin in ‘a day or two,’ budget chief says
Russ Vought, head of the White House Office of Management and Budget, told House Republicans in a secret call Wednesday that mass layoffs of government workers will begin in “a day or two,” according to a congressman on the call. Vought’s plan for so-called “reductions in force” of federal personnel comes as President Donald Trump has threatened Democrats that he might chose to terminate “vast numbers” of federal workers under a government shutdown, which started Wednesday. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, during a briefing with reporters, did not expand on which federal departments could be affected but indicated layoffs are “imminent.”
Statue of Liberty may go dark, New York governor warns
The Statue of Liberty may fall dark during the federal government shutdown, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said on Wednesday. With Lady Liberty as a backdrop, the New York Democrat stood among state elected officials and union representatives to call out Republicans in Washington, D.C., for the shutdown’s consequences on entitlement programs, as well as closures to services and parks. This may include Liberty Island and adjoining Ellis Island, the historic gateway to the United States for millions of individuals who became Americans. Lady Liberty, dedicated over 140 years ago in New York Harbor, has symbolized the country’s welcoming of immigration. Government shutdown 2025 What to know about government layoffs
Hochul said New York wouldn’t pay to keep the Statue of Liberty open during Washington’s budget debate as the state had done before. “Today, the torch she holds — as a beacon to others, a symbol — could literally go dark,” Hochul added. “Not because of an act of God or a horrific storm, flood or hurricane. But literally because Donald Trump and Republicans in Washington imposed a government shutdown.”
Neither the National Park Service nor the Department of Interior quickly responded to emailed concerns about keeping Liberty and Ellis islands open. During prior government shutdowns, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo used state monies to keep the Statue of Liberty operational. The federal shutdown in 2018-19 cost roughly $1.5 million to keep the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island open, Gothamist reported.
Why are lawmakers battling over health care?
Republicans are alleging Democrats shut down the government to demand free health care for unauthorized immigrants. But these migrants are typically ineligible for federal health benefits, said Leo Cuello, a professor at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy. Government shutdown 2025 What to know about government layoffs
They don’t qualify for comprehensive Medicaid coverage, Medicare or the Children’s Health Insurance Program. And they can’t acquire federally subsidized health plans on exchanges backed by the Affordable Care Act. There are legal immigrants on Medicaid in the United States, so-called “qualified aliens” who were previously eligible for Medicaid coverage.
According to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, they included only lawful immigrants: legal permanent residents, refugees, people granted asylum, people granted humanitarian parole including Ukrainians and Afghans, certain Cubans and Haitians; and certain victims of human trafficking and domestic violence, among others. The new tax and spending package Trump signed in July restricts eligibility exclusively to U.S. citizens, legal permanent residents – i.e. green card holders – as well as select Cuban and Haitian immigrants. There is no proposal to provide free health care to persons living in the country illegally. Government shutdown 2025 What to know about government layoffs
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