Congress

Mass firing threats don’t faze Democrats

Published

9 months ago

October 7, 2025

President Donald Trump said Monday he’s on the verge of enacting mass firings of federal workers. But Democrats say it won’t make them budge in the increasingly rancorous shutdown standoff.

The mass layoffs, dreamed up by White House budget director Russ Vought, would be the most significant pressure point yet as the shutdown enters a seventh day Tuesday — if Trump follows through. Already he has blown past Vought’s own prediction that firings would start by the end of last week, and no action was taken in the immediate aftermath of a fifth failed Senate vote Monday to reopen the government.

But ahead of that vote, Democrats projected defiance and argued the White House threats are hollow — not because they don’t believe the administration won’t follow through, but because they think it would be swinging the meat-axe regardless.

“They were firing people right and left before the government shutdown,” said Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Senate Democrat, when asked about the threats.

Proceeding with “reductions in force,” as Vought has threatened, would go well beyond the typical shutdown furloughs, where federal workers are hired back once the government reopens. But they would be in keeping with the Trump administration’s sledgehammer approach to the federal bureaucracy since January.

Trump officials have made no secret they are using the threats as a cudgel in the shutdown fight: One of his top economic advisers, Kevin Hassett, said Sunday the administration was closely watching how Democrats voted Monday night — in effect, daring them to risk their own constituents’ livelihoods.

More than 20 percent of the federal workforce resides in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia. But even Democrats representing the capital’s suburbs shrugged off the threat.

“[Federal workers] know that he’s going to move forward with firing as many federal government employees as he possibly can,” Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-Md.) told reporters. “And this is a threat that they don’t think is any different from what he’s been doing before, and I think they’re right.”

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) was more direct in a gaggle with reporters last week, calling Trump’s plans “Mafia-style threats and blackmail.”

They have backing from federal worker unions, who have generally encouraged Democrats to keep up their fight against Trump as lawmakers urge Republicans to come to the negotiating table on health care. Democrats also believe that the threat of a steep premium hike for Affordable Care Act insurance plans will resonate with voters in the midterms.

Two of the biggest unions, the American Federation of Government Employees and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, filed a federal lawsuit last week seeking to block Vought from proceeding with any layoffs during a shutdown — arguing that mass firings are among the nonessential activities that must be curtailed during an appropriations lapse.

Asked about the threats Monday, Trump said if the shutdown continues, “It could, at some point it will” trigger layoffs

The firings aren’t the only pressure point bearing down on lawmakers and the administration. Most civilian federal workers will miss their first payback Friday, while active duty military members could go without pay starting Oct. 15.

Durbin acknowledged that there might be a “tripping point” where the fallout from a shutdown forces a resolution but could not say what it might be.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters shortly after Monday night’s vote that if there are layoffs “it falls on Donald Trump’s shoulders.”

“He’s doing it, not Democrats,” the New York Democrat said. “And the American people know that.”

Democrats have been buoyed by polling that shows voters holding Trump and Republicans more responsible for the shutdown than Democrats — for now. That has given Democrats confidence in their positions, with some saying they have been emboldened by the mass-firing threats.

“Having been in many budget negotiations, I know that the person to make the first threat is usually the one with the least leverage,” said Rep. Sarah Elfreth (D-Md.).

Trump suggested Monday he was already in talks with Democrats about their health care demands, but top Democratic leaders quickly batted down that claim while emphasizing that they stand ready to negotiate.

“I do not know of any Democrats who have spoken to President Trump or members of his administration on this issue of reopening the government, enacting a bipartisan spending agreement, and addressing the Republican health care crisis,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters Monday, while Schumer similarly told reporters that it was his “understanding” that Trump had not spoken to any Democrats.

Some Republicans, like Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville, have defended Trump and Vought’s threats, saying layoffs are necessary to address a “bloated” federal bureaucracy. “We’ve got to find some way to cut back on the debt we have,” Tuberville added.

But others have reacted to the mass firing threats with unease. They worry that the Trump administration’s bald attempts to focus political pain on Democrats and their constituencies muddles their attempt to keep the shutdown blame game focused solely on Schumer and Senate Democrats — and makes a solution to the standoff harder to find.

“I think that digs us a deeper hole,” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said last week in reference to Vought’s campaign targeting blue states. “I think if you do that, you’re going to create a bad faith environment.”

Jennifer Scholtes contributed to this report.

Congress

Rubio, Witkoff to brief Congress on Iran

Published

28 minutes ago

June 29, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Top deputies of President Donald Trump will brief Congress on the Iran peace talks in a Monday conference call — the first time administration officials have addressed a broad group of lawmakers since Trump signed a “memorandum of understanding” with Tehran earlier this month.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, will lead the briefing for all House and Senate members at 4 p.m., according to seven people granted anonymity to discuss the private meeting.

Republicans and Democrats have called for more transparency about the 14-point agreement inked on June 18, which initiated a cease-fire between the two countries. Since then, the U.S. and Iran have continued to engage in hostilities.

Congress

Capitol agenda: Red, white and GOP hard-liner blues

Published

3 hours ago

June 29, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

House Republicans finally cleared a runway this week to finish some of their top legislative priorities before the July 4 recess.

That is, unless a small band of hard-liners trip up those plans at takeoff.

Speaker Mike Johnson is hoping to move quickly to pass fiscal 2027 appropriations legislation, the annual defense policy bill and a kids online safety bill that has been years in the making. The movement comes after President Donald Trump instructed GOP hard-liners to stop holding up a procedural vote amid a protest from Rep. Anna Paulina Luna and others that the Senate hadn’t passed Trump’s election security bill.

But Luna and other hard-liners are still threatening to tank the procedural vote that could delay the defense policy bill and other measures until they get concessions on the SAVE America Act, amid other demands.

Johnson, for example, had also promised hard-liners a vote before July 4 on a sweeping GOP immigration bill introduced in the prior Congress as H.R. 2, which is highly unlikely to happen.

Johnson for his part has said the House will “pass the SAVE America Act again” by folding parts of it into a third party-line reconciliation bill. But the slimmed-down version he’d need to pursue in order to meet strict Senate rules for the budget process is already being panned by hard-liners as insufficient.

That reconciliation bill is also already delayed. House Republicans aren’t on track to meet their goal of advancing its framework before the July 4 recess as members on the Budget panel balked over how to pay for the legislation in a closed-door meeting last week.

“Time is of the essence, given how many legislative days we have,” House Energy and Commerce Chair Brett Guthrie, who is sponsoring the kids online safety legislation, said in an interview last week. “If we lose a week, that would be important.”

Meanwhile, Democratic leadership is grappling with their own heated internal divisions this week. Members are split over supporting the adoption of an amendment to a fiscal 2027 spending bill from Rep. Thomas Massie that would end Israel aid and cut the overall foreign military aid program by $3.3 billion.

Appropriations ranking member Rosa DeLauro did not instruct her colleagues on how to vote during a rare Sunday evening caucus call, two sources granted anonymity to discuss the private meeting tell Mia and Riley. Leaders did, however, criticize the amendment as poorly written.

One other item this week that could split members of each party: House lawmakers are also slated to vote on a rewritten war powers resolution from Rep. Rashida Tlaib to reign in Trump administration military actions in Lebanon. Leadership worked with Tlaib to come up with new language last month that is expected to garner more Dem support, but the resolution is still expected to fail without GOP votes.

What else we’re watching:

— SENATE GOP GETS ANTSY ABOUT NOMINATIONS: Some Republican senators are unsettled by Trump’s apparent lack of urgency in filling vacant posts, even as GOP control of the chamber beyond the midterms is increasingly in doubt. There are more than two dozen federal court vacancies. Labor secretary, FDA commissioner and scores of other open positions do not have nominees, and a senior White House official said Trump is in no rush to fill them. “We’re running short on time,” said Sen. Tommy Tuberville, a member of Senate HELP, which oversees health, labor and other issues.

—RICK SCOTT SAYS HE’S JUST TRYING TO HELP: Fresh off his controversial Trump invite to a Senate GOP lunch last week, Sen. Rick Scott told Blue Light News in an interview he’s trying to make a mark — not trying to challenge Senate Majority Leader John Thune. Scott insists that neither his invitation to the president nor a letter he circulated afterward outlining how the Senate GOP should be preparing for the midterms should be seen as a prelude to a leadership challenge. The Florida Republican said he’s perfectly happy running the conference’s conservative Steering Committee and predicted Thune would easily secure another term as leader. What has become eminently clear in recent weeks is that Scott — after a long career in business, two terms as governor and nearly eight years as senator — just isn’t a back-bench kind of guy.

Meredith Lee Hill, Riley Rogerson, Alex Gangitano, Jordain Carney and Cheyenne Haslett contributed to this report.

Congress

Republicans get antsy about confirmations as the Senate hangs in the balance

Published

6 hours ago

June 29, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

President Donald Trump is showing little urgency in sending nominations to the Senate even as the GOP’s control of the chamber beyond 2026 is increasingly in doubt.

There are more than two dozen federal court vacancies. Labor secretary, FDA commissioner and scores of other open positions do not have nominees, and a senior White House official said Trump is in no rush to fill them.

“Ultimately, we need to have the right people in those positions,” said the official, who was granted anonymity to describe internal thinking. “So if it’s acting for now, so be it. If [it] takes a little while to find that perfect person, then it takes a little while.”

That’s unsettling some Republican senators who are anxious to fill spots ahead of the midterms, a daunting task given the legislative calendar and host of competing GOP priorities.

“We’re running short on time,” said Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), a member of the Senate HELP Committee, which oversees health, labor and other issues. “We’d love to get at least one or two of them and get it in the next tranche.”

As far as judges, Tuberville said he wants to see “as many as we can get” nominated, adding, “I don’t know why we don’t have more.”

Trump’s apparent nonchalance — particularly over judges — is a marked departure from his first term, when he opined that appointing people to the bench might be the “single most important thing you do” as president. But as the Senate left for a two-week recess Thursday, there were only 10 nominees pending for 29 judicial vacancies.

The vacancies come amid ongoing tensions between the Senate and Trump, who has put pressure on the chamber to pass the GOP elections bill known as the SAVE America Act, going so far as to cancel a planned Wednesday signing of a bipartisan housing bill.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), a member of the Judiciary Committee, said he “absolutely” wants to see the president nominate more judges before the end of the year. Texas has three court vacancies with zero nominees.

“And that’s one of his greatest legacies, both first term and second,” Cruz said of Trump.

Trump is on pace with his first term in total confirmations in part because Republicans changed the Senate rules last year to confirm slates of civilian posts at once by a simple majority vote.

One tranche confirmed in Mayincluded 49 nominees, from ambassadors to midlevel posts at various federal agencies. So far, 502 of Trump’s second-term nominees have been confirmed, compared to 509 at this point during his first term and 601 at the same point during former President Joe Biden’s term.

Federal judges and members of the Cabinet still have to be confirmed individually, despite the rule change for other posts.

Trump inherited only about 40 judicial vacancies for his current term, fewer than any president since Ronald Reagan. Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) previously complained that the White House hasn’t nominated more judges. More recently, though, he’s blaming his committee for not acting more quickly on the already pending nominees.

“Right now it’s hard for me to blame the White House when in the last three executive weeks, we were supposed to have meetings to vote judges out, we couldn’t have enough members present,” Grassley said in an interview.

A White House official said “Trump plans to nominate well qualified individuals to fill these vacancies.”

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said he’s had “a couple good discussions” with the White House about a circuit court vacancy, which he expects the administration to fill. As a Judiciary Committee member, he can block any nominee that doesn’t get support from Democrats.

“If it’s somebody I support, I’ll vote for them. If it’s somebody I don’t support, I’ll vote no,” Kennedy said. “It’s an important spot. They know I’m on Judiciary, and they know I’ll vote no if I don’t agree.”

The Labor secretary and FDA commissioner picks, meanwhile, go through the HELP committee — chaired by Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who lost his primary last month after Trump endorsed a challenger.

Republicans have been left in the dark about those nominees, some on the panel say.

Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) said he’s heard “nothing at all” and “radio silence” from administration. Another GOP senator, granted anonymity to speak candidly, said they’ve heard nothing from the administration about its thinking or plans for a Labor secretary nominee specifically.

The HELP Committee membership poses challenges for the administration. Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) previously expressed concerns about Casey Means’ nomination as surgeon general before Trump pulled her, for example. And the dynamic between the president and the chair could be a hurdle, three people granted anonymity to comment on the process said.

“Why give Cassidy a platform to get back at DJT?” one of them said.

Another, a GOP senator, predicted Cassidy would “play games” with nominees who have to go through his committee.

“I really don’t think a lot of senators are in any mood to give the president any wins because they’re frustrated with him,” said the third person, who is close to the White House.

But confirming nominees before he leaves the Senate could be a priority for Cassidy, one of the few Republican doctors to push the administration toward public health nominees who align with established science on issues like vaccines.

A potential successor — Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky — is a critic of the vaccine and masking standards set during the pandemic and would likely set the committee on a different path.

Recent appointees such as Nicole Saphier for surgeon general and Erica Schwartz for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director are more mainstream than some past HHS appointees like Means and Dave Weldon, who was nominated for CDC director before the administration determined he didn’t have the votes.

Those nominees have been moving through the regular process, including meeting with Cassidy and other senators ahead of confirmation hearings.

Cassidy told reporters after he lost his primary that he would “vote for the good of my country and the good of my state.”

“There’s some nominees that have not gotten through committee for whatever reason, so that’s not anything new,” he added. “That’ll just be part of the process.”

A HELP Committee spokesperson added Thursday that Cassidy has voted for every Trump nominee and that the panel will “do its job to confirm qualified nominees and serve the American people.”

“Anyone who says otherwise doesn’t know what they’re talking about,” the spokesperson added.

The White House official said “Trump remains committed to nominating highly qualified individuals for a variety of posts that are aligned with the agenda the American people elected him to enact” and will continue to send nominees to the Senate, including to the HELP Committee.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said in an interview he had not spoken to the White House about their plans for some of the major picks under HELP jurisdiction but he encouraged the administration to send nominees.

“I think it’s always better to have people in permanent positions rather than temporary,” Thune added.

Megan Messerly contributed to this report.