White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt is warning that federal agencies are preparing for mass layoffs if Democrats continue to block a stopgap spending bill and allow the government to shut down at the end of the month.
The warning came as Congress neared a Tuesday midnight deadline to avert a shutdown. While the Republican-led House approved a short-term continuing resolution last week, the measure has stalled in the Senate, where Democrats are demanding additional provisions.
“There will be layoffs if Democrats don’t keep the government open,” Leavitt said during the daily press briefing. “We are nearing a government shutdown; we are nearing a funding deadline. The president wants to make this deadline. He wants to keep this government open.”
Leavitt accused Democratic leaders of playing politics at the expense of federal workers and taxpayers.
“The president is giving Democrat leadership one last chance to be reasonable, to come to the White House today to try to talk about this, and now is not the time to try to get political points against Donald Trump,” she said.
The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) circulated internal guidance to agencies instructing them to prepare reduction-in-force (RIF) plans in case a shutdown takes effect on October 1.
According to the memo, employees working on programs not legally required to continue without appropriations should expect to receive both furlough and RIF notices.
“With respect to those federal programs whose funding would lapse and which are otherwise unfunded, such programs are no longer statutorily required to be carried out,” the guidance stated. “RIF notices should be issued to all employees tied to those programs.”
The memo also directed agencies to revise staffing levels once Congress approves appropriations for fiscal year 2026, retaining only employees necessary for core statutory functions.
In unusually sharp language, the guidance accused Democrats of derailing what has historically been a bipartisan process.
“While Congress has usually passed short-term funding bills on a bipartisan basis, Democrats this year are making insane demands, including $1 trillion in new spending,” the document said. “Those demands risk forcing a shutdown.”
At issue is the Senate’s refusal to advance the House-passed H.R. 5371, a “clean” continuing resolution that would extend current funding levels through November 21. The Trump administration has endorsed that measure, with Leavitt calling it a “commonsense” approach.
“All we are asking for is a commonsense, clean funding resolution to keep the government open,” Leavitt said. “The president supports enactment of a clean CR to ensure no discretionary spending lapse after Sept. 30, 2025, and OMB hopes the Democrats will agree.”
President Trump has already overseen significant workforce reductions during his current term through buyouts and targeted layoffs. Administration officials have touted those cuts as part of an effort to shrink the federal bureaucracy. A shutdown, however, could accelerate those efforts, particularly if Democrats refuse to accept a stopgap measure.
The dispute has been further complicated by Democratic demands for expanded health care access to illegal immigrants, a proposal Trump has flatly rejected amid his broader immigration crackdown. Since returning to office in January, Trump has presided over the deportation or voluntary departure of an estimated 2 million people.
Federal agencies have already begun implementing contingency plans. Non-essential employees are bracing for furloughs, while contractors face uncertainty about payments.
Markets are also watching closely; previous shutdowns have rattled investor confidence and disrupted federal services ranging from food safety inspections to passport processing.
Leavitt emphasized that the administration still hopes to avoid disruption.
“We remain hopeful that Democrats in Congress will not trigger a shutdown and the steps outlined above will not be necessary,” she said. “But federal agencies must prepare for all outcomes.”
With just hours before the deadline, the standoff remains unresolved — and the jobs of tens of thousands of federal employees hang in the balance.
Multistate salmonella outbreak linked to egg recall sickens dozens: CDC
People with salmonella infection often suffer diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps after getting in contact with infected animals, their feces, or their environment or eating contaminated food or drinking contaminated water.
Federal health officials are investigating a multistate salmonella outbreak linked to recalled eggs.
By the numbers:
As of August 27, the CDC reported 95 people in several states have been infected with the same salmonella strain. Illnesses began between January and July. So far, 18 people have been hospitalized and no deaths reported.
States with people reported sick include:
Big picture view:
State health officials have linked illness subclusters to eggs served at four unidentified restaurants, the CDC said.
What they’re saying:
“State and local public health officials are interviewing people about the foods they ate in the week before they got sick. Of the 36 people interviewed, 33 (92%) reported eating eggs. This percentage is significantly higher than the 78% of respondents who reported eating eggs in the FoodNet Population Survey—a survey that helps estimate how often people eat various foods linked to diarrheal illness. This difference suggests that people in this outbreak got sick from eating eggs,” the CDC explained.
The backstory:
On August 27, Country Eggs, LLC of Lucerne Valley, California, recalled its large brown cage-free Sunshine Yolks due to potential salmonella contamination, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The eggs were distributed in Nevada and California and across various grocery stores and food service distributors.
They were packed in individual retail cartons:
FILE – Country Eggs, LLC of Lucerne Valley, California, is recalling its LARGE BROWN CAGE FREE SUNSHINE YOLKS. (FDA)
FILE – Nijiya Markets Code Dates sell by: 7/1/25 through 9/16/25 No. CA 7695. (FDA)
For bulk food service, the eggs were packed in containers that read:
Recalled Country Eggs LARGE BROWN SUNSHINE YOLKS Code Dates sell by: 7/1/25 – 9/16/25. (FDA)
What you can do:
Customers who bought the affected eggs are urged to return them to the place you purchased them for a full refund or to safely dispose of them.
Consumers with questions may contact the company at 1 (800) 722-3447 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday PT or by email at [email protected].
Dig deeper:
According to the CDC, salmonella is a group of bacteria that can cause gastrointestinal illness and fever called Salmonellosis.
Most people infected with salmonella experience diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps.
Symptoms usually start six hours to six days after swallowing the bacteria, and most people recover without treatment after four to seven days.
Some people – especially children younger than five, adults 65 and older, and people with weakened immune systems – may experience more severe illnesses that require medical treatment or hospitalization.
Severe symptoms include diarrhea and a fever higher than 102°F, diarrhea for more than three days that is not improving, bloody diarrhea, so much vomiting that you cannot keep liquids down, signs of dehydration such as not peeing much, dry mouth and throat, and feeling dizzy when standing up.
The Source: Information for this article was taken from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, the FDA website and previous reporting by FOX Local.