(Washington) Massive layoffs of American federal workers are “imminent”, warned the White House while no compromise is in sight Thursday between Democrats and Republicans who refer responsibility for budget blocking (“Shutdown”) paralyzing the United States for two days.
“The Budget Office (of the White House) works with federal agencies to identify the cuts that can be made and we think that layoffs are imminent,” said the spokesperson for the American executive, Karoline Leavitt.
At the same time, the Trump administration has announced the abolition of billions of dollars in federal funds promised to states led by Democrats. In New York, she frozen $ 18 billion promised for two public transportation projects.
In total, 26 billion federal funds, previously approved, were frozen. All in 16 states, all won by Democrat Kamala Harris during the presidential election in November 2024.
“The actions of the White House seem both unprecedented and punitive, stressing the risks of an endless budgetary dead end,” feared the New York Times.
The Director of the Budget Budget at the White House, Russell Vought, welcomed budget cuts also affecting green energy projects, as in California, mocking “the Green New Deal scam”.
“Hosting”
Some 750,000 civil servants have been unemployed since midnight Wednesday, penalizing public services users.
The Association of American Air Controllers (NATCA) said in a statement feared for the safety of airspace, due to technical unemployment of more than 2,300 agents.
Such a “Shutdown”, unprecedented for seven years, is very unpopular in the United States and-as usual-the two major parties reject responsibility.
“The Democrats have closed the state services,” said the White House in a message on its site, accompanied by a clock that counts the blocking.
They “took the American people hostage in a way which, according to them, benefits them politically,” added the head of majority in the Senate, John Thune.
The opposition regrets the absence of discussions in good faith. “Why (the Republicans) boycott negotiations? I have never seen this in my life, ”said Democratic Senator Chris Murphy.
According to the chief of the Democrats in the House, Hakeem Jeffries, the president shows “irresponsible and not serious behavior”.
Photo Jonathan Ernst, Reuters archives
The chief of the Democrats in the House, Hakeem Jeffries
In fact, if he said he wanted to avoid paralysis, Donald Trump is also threatening. “Many good things can come out of” Shutdowns “, we can get rid of many things we don’t want, and they would be democratic things,” he warned on Tuesday.
The Republicans offer in a text a simple extension of the current budget until the end of November, while Democrats require the extension of public health insurance programs for the most disadvantaged.
Requests deemed “ridiculous” by vice-president JD Vance, who made a rare appearance on Wednesday at the press house press conference.
Photo Evan Vucci, Associated Press Archives
Vice-president JD Vance
“Complicated to predict” duration
The text proposed by the Republicans received only 55 votes, including three Democrats. Still too far from the 60 necessary for its adoption.
The last “Shutdown” dates back to the first Trump mandate, from December 2018 to January 2019, a record of 35 days. No clear exit options seem to be in sight at the weekend.
“It is not known how long the Democrats will maintain their untenable posture, making the duration of the” Shutdown “complicated to predict,” said Russell Vought in a letter to ministerial services managers.
The situation will not be resolved before at least on Friday, the work of the congress being suspended Thursday for the Jewish festival of Yom Kippour.
Faced with the disastrous image that a budgetary paralysis refers to the Americans, the presidential majority hopes that enough democratic senators will eventually yield.
According to calculations by analysts from the Nationwide insurance company, each week of paralysis could reduce the annual growth of American GDP by 0.2 points.
