US Vice-President JD Vance recently issued an equally severe admonition to the industry against extensive workforce layoffs. This announcement coincides with the government shutdown entering its second week. The Tunica County standoff, which started on October 1, comes on the heels of Democrats’ rejection of a short-term continuing appropriations bill meant to stop any disruptions in federally-delivered services. As negotiations have reached an impasse, Vance has made a point of highlighting concern for the plight of affected federal employees.
In his comments to Fox News, Vance stated, “The longer this goes on, the deeper the cuts are going to be.” He cautioned that the current shutdown could start causing widespread furloughs. This would affect up to 800,000 feds who are on leave without pay as we write this. He added, “To be clear, some of these cuts are going to be painful.”
The surprise this time is that the shutdown has already caused huge job losses. That’s why on Friday, the Trump administration dropped perhaps its most momentous education announcement. These seven agencies, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), started the process to terminate more than 4,000 employees. Close to 1,300 CDC staff were terminated. After their union stepped in, roughly 700 of them were brought back on Saturday, according to corporate communications confirmed to CNN.
Lastly, look at Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who’s obviously against the health insurance subsidy extensions. This decision is especially pronounced given the current tumult surrounding the spending bill. This decision has been vociferously condemned by Democrats, who assert that the Republican position penalizes at-risk workers. Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) agreed, adding that punishing people isn’t what lawmakers should be focused on. He repeated his party’s commitment to restoring federal healthcare subsidies in the budget.
Faced with this burgeoning disaster, in August 2020, Trump directed Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to respond. On that latter note, expect details to emerge soon about the extent of Blinken’s authority. Hegseth followed through on this directive with impressive speed, masking the administration’s work to lessen somewhat the immediate financial burden.
Now as the shutdown drags on, providing no clear end in sight. Vance’s dire premonitions concerning upcoming layoffs highlight the increasing impact of political gridlock. From here the attention turns to bipartisan negotiations. They’re trying to reach an agreement that addresses their funding obligations and fulfills the needs of workers before more harmful cuts go into effect.