The Trump administration’s plans to lay off thousands of federal workers and freeze federal grants during the government shutdown are getting pushback from some congressional Republicans.
The moves would harm projects and constituents in a number of GOP-held districts, and some Republicans worry that using the shutdown as a spending-slashing opportunity could backfire on Republicans as they aim to put the blame for the shutdown squarely on Democrats.
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) voiced opposition to Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought’s move Wednesday — the first day of the funding lapse — to pause federal funding for tunnel and subway infrastructure projects in New York City.
The move was seen as a jab against Democratic leaders Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, both of whom are from New York. Lawler said Wednesday on social media he was “actively engaged” with the White House and was pushing to reverse the decision.
“We should not be cutting this crucial counterterrorism and infrastructure funding,” Lawler said.
In addition to pausing the New York infrastructure funding, Vought on Wednesday announced plans to cancel $8 billion in funding for energy projects in 16 Democratic-led states.
The Trump administration is also planning for mass federal layoffs of nonessential workers if the shutdown continues. Vought told House Republicans on a conference call Wednesday that reduction-in-force (RIF) notices would go out in the next day or two.
“I personally don’t like it and I don’t think [it’s] fair to the employees who are caught up by Dems voting for a shutdown,” Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) said of the layoff plans in a text message to The Hill.
But Bacon saw the move as a consequence of Senate Democrats withholding votes for a GOP-crafted “clean” continuing resolution (CR) to extend funding for seven weeks as they make demands on health care. He noted Republicans had warned Democrats that shutting down the government would give the executive branch more power.
“We didn’t have a shutdown during the Biden era partially because we didn’t want to give [former President] Biden added leverage,” Bacon said.
Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) warned the firings could have political ramifications for Republicans.
“This is certainly the most moral high ground Republicans have had in a moment like this that I can recall, and I just don’t like squandering that political capital when you have that kind of high ground,” Cramer told CNN Wednesday.
Republican leaders have expressed confidence that Senate Democrats will cave under public pressure and vote to reopen the government.
But a Washington Post poll of 1,000 Americans released Thursday found that 47 percent of respondents blamed Trump and Republicans in Congress for the shutdown, while 30 percent blamed Democrats in Congress. Another 23 percent were not sure.
Asked by NewsNation in a press conference Thursday if he was worried about Republicans losing public support in the shutdown fight over federal layoffs and targeting federal funding, Speaker Mike Johnson [R-La.] said he was not.
“How in the world could they blame the people here who have done our job and sent over a clean CR to keep the lights on?” Johnson said.
Many Republicans in districts that would be most affected by federal layoffs and canceled funds are sticking behind the leadership messaging for now.
Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.), the chair of the House Appropriations Committee, was asked Thursday on C-SPAN about looming mass layoffs of federal workers. About 7.3 percent of the workers in Cole’s district are federal employees, according to a Congressional Research Service report.
“The best way to avoid that is to reopen government,” Cole said.
Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), the chair of the hard-line conservative House Freedom Caucus who represents a district where nearly 6.5 percent of workers are employed by the federal government, argued that the threat of shutdown layoffs could bring Democrats to the negotiating table.
“When that becomes apparent that he’s serious about that, then I think the Democrats then change their mind, and enough of them in the Senate then change their mind, and enough of them vote to just keep the government open for seven weeks while we negotiate all these other things that the Democrats are bringing up now,” Harris said Wednesday on Fox Business.
Jeffries, though, said Thursday that he is undeterred by the threat of mass federal layoffs — arguing that it is not a change from the status quo before the shutdown.
“The Trump administration has been firing thousands of federal employees outside of the context of a government shutdown since Jan. 20,” Jeffries said. “Literally, they've been engaging in mass firings, the Trump administration, since Jan. 20.”
And Jeffries clearly thinks he has the upper hand. The Democratic leader said he believes Republicans, despite saying they will not negotiate on health care demands like expanding Affordable Care Actions in a shutdown, will come to the table due to “public sentiment.”
“At the end of the day, the public knows that Donald Trump and Republicans have shut the federal government down and that they're continuing to engage in the chaos and the cruelty and the corruption that we've seen from this administration from Day 1of the presidency,” Jeffries said.
Source: The Hill - News
