Trump Sets the Stage for Massive Federal Layoffs as Shutdown Begins: 'It's Only Because of the Democrats'
The federal government might be shut down, but President Donald Trump’s plan to trim back the federal bureaucracy is moving at full speed ahead.
On Tuesday night, Senate Democrats rejected a GOP-supported bill that would have kept the federal government running through Nov. 21. As the prospect of a shutdown loomed earlier Tuesday, Trump said shuttering the government is an opportunity to shed jobs.
“Well, we may do a lot, and that’s only because of the Democrats,” Trump said in a video posted to X after he was asked how many government workers he would lay off.
Trump said Democrats are more interested in non-Americans than American citizens.
“As you know, they want to be able to take care of people that are coming to our country illegally, and no system can handle that,” Trump said.
Q: “If there is a shutdown how many federal workers do you plan to lay off?”
President Trump: “Well, we may do a lot and that’s only because of the Democrats.” pic.twitter.com/J4ix1mOsry
— CSPAN (@cspan) September 30, 2025
“Our country can’t handle people who come into our country illegally, and they want to give them full health care benefits. They want to open the wall again. Can you believe it? I can’t even believe it,” Trump said, adding as he mused about the Democratic Party, “They lost an election in a landslide and they don’t change.”
Trump said he would not have wanted a shutdown, but will try to make some good come of it.
“We’re doing well as a country, so the last thing we want to do is shut it down, but a lot of good can come down from shutdowns. We can get rid of a lot of things that we didn’t want,” Trump said, according to The New York Times.
This is the whole ballgame on the government shutdown. Democrat Maxine Waters just admitted they want to fund healthcare for illegals which Dems are never supposed to actually admit on camera. Any shutdown will be rightfully hung on the Democrats now. pic.twitter.com/Lzp7noVwDO
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) September 30, 2025
“When you shut it down, you have to do layoffs,” Trump said. “So we’d be laying off a lot of people that are going to be very affected, and they’re Democrats.”
A report in Politico said programs critical to Trump’s agenda — such as immigration enforcement — will continue unabated during a federal shutdown.
“Remember Rahm Emanuel’s great quote: ‘You should never waste a crisis,’” former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said. “Rahm Emanuel should be proud of the Trump team because they’re prepared to say, ‘Every day this is shut, we will find ways to pay for everything we want. We’ll find ways to eliminate everything you want. And we’ll do it legally.’”
Trump had said as much on Tuesday.
I voted YES to keep the government open and working for the American people. Sadly, Democrats chose a Schumer Shutdown, putting Americans last. pic.twitter.com/G1fN5rV88K
— Senator Tim Scott (@SenatorTimScott) September 30, 2025
“The last person that wants to shut down is us,” Trump said then.
“Now, with that being said, we can do things during the shutdown that are irreversible — that are bad for them and irreversible by them. Like cutting vast numbers of people out. Cutting things that they like, cutting programs that they like,” he said.
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