‘Attempt at intimidation’: Donald Trump is now using government workers as human shields in his latest standoff

A looming government shutdown has now taken a turn that could affect thousands of federal employees. In a move that’s a lot more aggressive than anything we’ve seen in the past, Donald Trump’s administration has reportedly told federal agencies to get ready for a significant round of firings if a shutdown happens next week.

This isn’t just a regular furlough where workers are sent home temporarily; this is a full-on reduction in force, which would completely eliminate people’s jobs. If you’ve ever worked for the government, like I have, you know this is out of the ordinary and there is no justification for it, unless Trump wants to use employees as hostages. In past shutdowns, non-essential government workers were furloughed, but they always had their jobs to come back to once a new budget was approved.

This news comes directly from a memo that was released by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), found by Politico. The memo basically states that agencies should look into cutting back on staff for any programs that would lose funding in a shutdown, especially if those programs “are not consistent with the president’s priorities.” This new strategy would trigger a major upheaval in the federal workforce, which has already been through some dramatic changes this year that had to be worked back since they were short-sighted and inefficient.

Trump is using federal employees as a bargaining chip

The Democrats, as you can imagine, are not happy about this at all. Both House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer have come out swinging. Jeffries, in a post on X, directly addressed the threat, saying, “We will not be intimidated by your threat to engage in mass firings. Get lost.” He didn’t stop there, either, calling the head of the OMB, Russ Vought, a “malignant political hack.”

Schumer also weighed in, calling the memo an “attempt at intimidation.” He also predicted that these “unnecessary firings will either be overturned in court or the administration will end up hiring the workers back.” It’s clear they see this as a high-pressure tactic designed to get them to back down. The whole situation is putting a lot of heat on Jeffries and Schumer.

They’ve managed to keep their Democratic lawmakers pretty united against a clean funding bill that would keep the government running for seven more weeks. Instead, they’re holding out for immediate improvements to health care in exchange for their votes on this short-term plan. The OMB memo seems to be a direct shot at their strategy, trying to force their hand by putting the jobs of thousands of federal workers on the line.

The memo from the OMB also seems to suggest that the administration is pretty confident they can weather a shutdown, noting that the GOP’s signature tax and anti-immigration spending package gives them “ample resources to ensure that many core Trump Administration priorities will continue uninterrupted.” This isn’t just a political battle over funding; it’s a battle over who blinks first, and it looks like the Trump administration is using government workers as leverage.