On Thursday morning, the second day of the partial government shutdown , Trump wrote in a Truth Social post that he was meeting soon with Russell Vought, his Office of Management and Budget Director, to decide where to start cutting the federal workforce. He said the shutdown has given him an “unprecedented opportunity” to pick and choose which agencies to target for layoffs.

One problem with the President’s plan: enacting permanent staffing cuts during a shutdown may be illegal under federal law. If Trump moves forward with layoffs, his action could be mired in court for months.

Trump and other Administration officials began last month threatening widespread layoffs of federal workers in the event of a shutdown. On Thursday, Trump seemed to relish the position he found himself in, wit

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