White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed on Thursday that “thousands” of federal employees are expected to lose their jobs as a result of the ongoing government shutdown.
Leavitt, speaking to NewsNation’s Libbey Dean, said the Trump administration is preparing for widespread cuts across federal agencies.
She described the scale of layoffs as significant and said the impact would be felt in the coming days.
“Look, it’s likely going to be in the thousands. It’s a very good question, and that’s something that the Office of Management and Budget and the entire team at the White House here, again, is unfortunately having to work on today,” Leavitt stated.
“These discussions and these conversations, these meetings would not be happening if the Democrats had voted to keep the government open.”
Her comments followed remarks she made the previous day warning that the layoffs would be “imminent.”
The press secretary’s latest estimate is the first public indication of how many federal workers could be directly affected by the shutdown.
The vote that triggered the shutdown took place in the Senate earlier this week.
Three members of the caucus—Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) , and Sen. Angus King (I-MA)—joined Republicans in voting to keep the government funded.
The remainder of the Democratic caucus voted against the measure.
Their opposition centered on the fact that the Republican continuing resolution did not include an extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits.
Republicans had resisted adding the extension into the stopgap bill.
The Daily Caller reported that GOP leaders argued that approving long-term health care tax credits should not come before securing a plan to keep government agencies funded and employees working.
The Congressional Budget Office weighed in earlier this year on the potential cost of extending the ACA credits.
The CBO projected that making the credits permanent would increase the federal deficit by $350 billion between 2026 and 2035.
That estimate became a central point in Republican arguments against including the provision in the resolution.
Lawmakers stressed that additional spending commitments should be evaluated in a broader fiscal debate rather than inserted into emergency government funding legislation.
Russell Vought, who leads the Office of Management and Budget, told Republican lawmakers that staff reductions would begin quickly.
Agencies were preparing to begin implementing furloughs and layoffs within “a day or two” of the shutdown’s start, according to Vought.
The federal government typically enacts a tiered process during shutdowns.
Agencies first identify “essential” workers who must remain on the job without pay until funding is restored.
Non-essential workers are furloughed.
In the current case, officials signaled that permanent layoffs may also be necessary if the standoff continues.
Vice President J.D. Vance addressed the political dimension of the shutdown in remarks Wednesday.
He accused Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of bowing to pressure from progressive members of his caucus.
Vance said Schumer was “terrified” of losing his Senate seat to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY)
Vance added that the shutdown likely will not be prolonged, the Daily Caller highlighted.
He said moderate Democrats have begun shifting their positions and may soon join Republicans in supporting a short-term funding resolution.
The White House and congressional leaders have continued to meet to assess the scope of the potential workforce reductions.
Discussions have focused on both immediate furloughs and longer-term options in the event the shutdown extends for weeks.
Unions representing federal employees have been monitoring developments closely.
While they have not released their own estimates of affected workers, they acknowledged that employees are concerned about both pay delays and the possibility of losing jobs permanently.
The Office of Personnel Management, which oversees federal workforce policies, has been drafting updated guidance for agencies.
OPM is expected to provide instructions on how to notify employees, how to manage pay and benefits during a furlough, and how to conduct permanent separations if required.
Previous shutdowns have offered a framework for how federal workers are affected.
During the 2018–2019 shutdown, hundreds of thousands of employees were furloughed or worked without pay.
That standoff lasted 35 days, the longest in U.S. history, before lawmakers reached a deal.
Officials have not projected how long the current shutdown may last.
