The White House said Friday it had begun mass layoffs of federal workers as President Donald Trump sought to amp up pressure on opposition Democrats to end a government shutdown that has crippled public services.

With the crisis set to go into a third week and no off-ramp in sight, Trump's budget chief Russ Vought confirmed on social media that the administration had begun following through on its threat to begin firing some of the 750,000 public servants placed on enforced leave.

The Office of Management and Budget, headed by Vought, told AFP the layoffs would be "substantial," but gave no precise numbers or details of which departments would be most affected.

The announcement came days after Trump said he was meeting Vought to determine which agencies "he recommends to be cut, and whe

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