The White House has instructed federal agencies to prepare for possible mass firings in light of a potential government shutdown next week, diverging from past practices of temporary furloughs. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a memo guiding agencies to determine programs that could suffer discretionary funding lapses if Congress fails to approve continued funding.

Programs without mandatory appropriations will be most affected, the OMB noted in a memo provided by the White House. The move raises questions about whether this is a strategy to propel President Trump's agenda to reduce the federal workforce or a tactic to pressure Democrats into passing Republican budget proposals.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer criticized the measure as intimidation and expressed co

See Full Page