Thousands of federal workers are bracing for layoffs after the White House threatened mass firings if an agreement isn’t reached to avoid a government shutdown.
The government will run out of money at midnight on Tuesday unless Democrats and Republicans agree on a funding bill. Although Democratic leaders are set to meet with President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday, the two sides are still a long way from a deal.
Government shutdowns often result in furloughs and missed paychecks, but the matter has been complicated further after the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) directed federal agencies to use the shutdown as an “opportunity” to reduce their workforce, specifically in those departments that are not legally required to continue working.
“Those weeks of limbo, not knowing what I’d do next to support myself were awful. It was one of the worst times in my life. Thinking about it gives me a horrible pit in my stomach, and I haven’t eaten well the past couple days because of it,” he told TIME. “It’s horrible to think it’s about to happen again.”
The park ranger said they and fellow federal workers are being used as “chess pieces” by the federal government. He said he had refilled his medication early in case he loses his job this week.
Federal workers were put on alert late last week when the OMB, led by Russell Vought, wrote in a memo that government departments should see the shutdown as an “opportunity to consider reduction in force.”
That prompted anger from federal worker unions.
“Federal employees are not bargaining chips. They are veterans, caregivers, law enforcement officers, and neighbors who serve their country and fellow Americans every day,” the American Federation for Government Employees said. “They deserve stability and respect, not pink slips and political games.”
Read More: ‘A Government Shutdown Could Start Wednesday. Here’s How It Could Affect Your Life
National Treasury Employees Union President Doreen Greenwald argued that the budget was being used “as a game of chicken with federal employees as the collateral damage,” while House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called Vought “a malignant political hack.”
Democrat leadership has sung a similar tune since the news dropped—they would not be “intimidated,” and still refuse to support the Republicans’ stop-gap bill unless the party reversed billions in cuts to Medicaid planned in the “Big Beautiful Bill,” restored funding to public broadcasting and foreign aid, and added millions of dollars of security funding for public officials.
“These unnecessary firings will either be overturned in court or the administration will end up hiring the workers back, just like they did as recently as this week,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said.
